About 18,500 rental properties will need to have ceiling insulation installed to meet new minimum standards for tenants, the ACT government has forecast.
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Emissions Reduction Minister Shane Rattenbury said insulation represented a cost-effective improvement to properties.
About 60 per cent of rental properties in the ACT already met the standards, which come into force with a phase-in period from April 1, he said.
"So it leaves about 40 per cent ... [that] will need to be upgraded over the next couple of years, and that includes ACT government housing," Mr Rattenbury said.
"As the landlord of those properties, the ACT government is underway in working through those upgrades so that our tenants will also be covered by these provisions."
Mr Rattenbury noted the cost of upgrades for landlords would be tax deductible, improve the value of their properties and present a significant saving for renters' energy bills.
Eligible property owners can also access zero-interest loans of up to $15,000 from the government's sustainable household scheme to foot the bill.
Between April and November 2026, landlords will have nine months from the start of a new lease to ensure their property complies with the standard.
Mr Rattenbury said work with the Master Builders Association and the Canberra Institute of Technology would provide training for insulation workers.
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Energy Efficiency Council chief executive Luke Menzel said the minimum standards were an important change in Canberra.
"If we install ceiling insulation, you can expect that to have a net benefit of $8000 - and that's really driven by the bill savings over the life of that, which is incredibly cost-effective technology," Mr Menzel said.
The upfront cost of installing insulation into a house was between $4000 and $5000, he said.
Phoebe Howe, a board member of Better Renting, an advocacy group for renters, said the minimum standards represented a massive change that would benefit tenants in the ACT.
"Better Renting is looking forward to working with the ACT government to increase these minimum energy efficiency standards," Ms Howe said.
Meanwhile, Mr Rattenbury also said a two-year national rent freeze, an idea floated by the federal Greens, was worth considering.
"I mean, they look at the ACT as a role model. We have actually got a form of rent cap in place. There are restrictions on how much you can increase the rent under the territory's Residential Tenancies Act."
Laws to ban no-cause evictions and introduce the minimum standards in the ACT were passed in the Legislative Assembly on March 21.
Landlords will, from April 1, need to give tenants a reason - which can include intention to renovate or move back into the property - before terminating their lease.
The opposition said the laws would harm the tenants the government was trying to protect because the new rules would force investors to leave the property market, a point disputed by the government.
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