Canberra property owners are facing another round of regulatory change, with reforms affecting both strata-titled properties and residential rentals.

For apartment investors in particular, understanding the changes is becoming increasingly important because owners may have responsibilities both as a landlord and as a member of an owners corporation.

New rules for renting strata properties

One significant change already operating in the ACT is the unit title rental certificate.

Before a tenant signs a tenancy agreement for a unit or townhouse within a units plan, the landlord must provide them with a rental certificate obtained from the owners corporation.

The certificate includes the owners corporation rules, information about common-property swimming pools, embedded electricity networks, restrictions on choosing utility providers and information about ceiling insulation.

Owners corporations generally have 14 days to provide the certificate, although they can have up to six weeks where information needs to be obtained. The maximum fee is currently $353 and a certificate generally remains valid for five years.

Changes proposed for owners corporation meetings

Following the ACT Legislative Assembly’s major inquiry into strata management, which reported in April, the Government introduced further legislation on 17 September 2026.

The proposed changes would significantly alter how owners corporations make decisions.

Currently, half of all unit owners are generally required to establish a quorum at a general meeting. The proposed legislation reduces this to 25%, with absentee and proxy votes counting towards the quorum.

Where fewer than 25% participate, decisions would generally take effect the following day rather than being subject to the existing 28-day delay. The current petition process would also be removed, with owners instead able to challenge relevant decisions through ACAT.

These changes are intended to address the practical problem of owners corporations being unable to make decisions because insufficient owners participate.

However, as at 27 September, these measures remain contained in a Bill before the Legislative Assembly and should not yet be treated as operating law.

Rental properties face another important deadline

Landlords also need to be aware of the ACT’s minimum ceiling-insulation standards.

Rental properties with no ceiling insulation, or insulation below R2, generally need to be upgraded to R5 unless an exemption applies. Existing tenancies must comply by 30 November 2026. For relevant new tenancy agreements, compliance is generally required within nine months of signing.

Failure to meet the standard can potentially result in ACAT ordering a rent reduction, compensation or, at the tenant’s request, termination of the tenancy.

Moving rentals from gas to electricity

The September Bill also proposes making electrification easier for landlords.

Where a rental property no longer has gas appliances or services, landlords would not be required to maintain a gas connection. When replacing gas appliances with electric alternatives, the landlord would be required to provide a reasonable replacement, rather than necessarily providing a like-for-like appliance.

More responsibility for property owners

The direction of ACT regulation is clear: owning and managing property is becoming increasingly compliance-driven.

For investors, particularly those owning apartments, good property management now involves much more than collecting rent and organising repairs.

Understanding tenancy legislation, owners corporation requirements, energy-efficiency standards and upcoming legislative changes is increasingly becoming part of protecting both the property and the investment.