The ACT government will re-examine unit title management as mixed-use developments become more common across the territory, Planning Minister Mick Gentleman told a forum on urban planning and policy on Monday night.

A community panel will be established within coming months to determine the shape of the new legislation, but co-ordinator-general of urban renewal Ben Ponton said a "layered" title system, like the one operating in Western Australia, could work in the ACT.

"[Under the current system] you could have a residential unit holder who's contributing essentially to maintain public spaces in the forecourt for the benefit of the hotel," Mr Ponton told Fairfax Media on Tuesday.

"For example, if you have a building that has a hotel, for example, generating a lot of activity, public realm foyer space that requires increased maintenance costs, under the current system that's all shared by everyone who owns a unit in that building."

Mr Ponton said a layered system would mean "costs are proportionate to the use of the building".

"It means if you're buying into a residential layer of a building, it might be the top eight floors for example, then you know that your unit title will be relevant to residential use whereas on the ground floor you might have more commercial activities with higher costs and those costs will be borne by those unit holders," he said.

Mr Ponton said several mixed-development buildings in Canberra were already operating on a similar unit title system but with more red tape.

"One of the examples of that would be Nishi in NewActon where you've got hotel, office, commercial and residential but it is a very complex arrangement," Mr Ponton said.

"Some of the current work-arounds are short-term fixes so you might have statements in management agreements and the like that bind the original owner [to the contract] but may not bind subsequent owners and that adds to the complexity."

Those who live in existing mixed-used developments say reform in the sector is long overdue.

Gary Green, the executive committee chairman for the Aurora complex on Kingston Foreshore, said there needed to be a "mechanism" to protect the needs of residents and commercial operators in mixed-use developments.

As an example, he said there was one water meter for the 69 apartments and 10 commercial premises in his complex.

"There needs to be a fair and equitable mechanism where costs are shared appropriately," Mr Green said.

"If the commercial part for instance uses a disproportionate amount of water then they should be charged for that amount they use rather than dividing by the 79 total owners in the complex, which is clearly unfair and unequitable."

Roger Smith, who lives in a mixed-use complex in NewActon, said he'd approached the government several times about the problems he and his neighbours faced.

Parts of his complex is used as hotel and short-term accommodation, something he said he and his fellow residents did not sign up for when they bought their apartments off the plan six years ago.

"Two or three months ago someone who was a hotel resident came in with a car that had a big camping unit on the top and went through the garage door and damaged the doors," Mr Smith said.

"That would not happen with a normal resident because they'd know the door has got a clearance of 2.4 metres and we've had great difficulty getting recovering of the cost of getting the top of the door fixed."

Gary Petherbridge, president of the Owners Corporation Network which hosted Monday night's forum, said any changes to strata law needed to make the process of buying into mixed-used complexes more "transparent".

"People who buy need to know who their neighbours are going to be," Mr Petherbridge said.

The ACT Property Council's executive director Merlin Kong said establishing a reference group would "in essence fast-track a reform process that would have taken years to commence".

"Urban density for a growing city like ours is a reality. A workable framework to allow for buildings that have residential, retail, and work elements is vital," Mr Kong said.