Changes to tenancy, consumer and property laws
The Housing and Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Act 2026 introduces reforms to ACT tenancy, consumer and property laws to support residents.
About the reform
The Act:
- changes the quorum rules for owners corporations general meetings
- supports landlords to transition from gas to electric services at their property
- removes the requirement for retirement villages to have an internal disputes committee
- makes changes to land title caveats (registering a legal interest in a piece of land) so people who do not live in the ACT can lodge a caveat.
General meeting decisions for owners corporations
General meetings for owners corporations, including unit titled retirement villages, have lower quorum requirements.
Previously, meetings needed half of all unit owners to make quorum. Under the new changes, only a quarter of all unit owners are needed.
Absentee and proxy votes will count toward a quorum in general meeting decisions. This change recognises those owners and their votes even if they aren’t in attendance.
Where attendance is below one-quarter of unit owners, and does not make quorum, decisions will take effect the following day.
Previously, there was a 28-day delay for decisions made without a quorum. This was to give owners time to organise a petition to oppose a decision.
Owners found it difficult to organise and get enough support on a petition to overturn a decision. Under the new changes, the petition process is removed. Owners can go to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal to overturn a meeting decision made below quorum.
This process helps owners corporations apply decisions more efficiently. There is also a pathway for someone to dispute a decision.
Gas transition at rental properties
If there are no appliances or services using gas at a rental property, a landlord does not need to provide a gas connection.
If a landlord is moving a rental property from gas to electric appliances, tenants can not seek a rent reduction for not receiving a ‘like for like’ replacement appliance. Instead, the landlord has to supply a 'reasonable' replacement.
Resolving disputes in retirement villages
A change to the Retirement Villages Act removes the requirement for an internal disputes committee. Setting up the committee incurred a cost for villages and was difficult to set up.
Retirement villages can set up their own internal disputes committee if they choose. They can also access other dispute resolution pathways, including:
- the ACT Human Rights Commission
- the Conflict Resolution Service
- the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Caveats on land titles
A land title caveat is where someone gives notice of having or claiming an interest in a piece of land.
Changes to land title caveats remove the requirement for an ACT service address. A person lodging a caveat can use a service address anywhere in Australia. This means that a caveat can be lodged even if the person lodging the caveat doesn’t live in the ACT.
Additionally, as long as you provide a postal address within Australia, you can use an email address as another address for service.
This change makes land title caveats process more accessible. It aligns the ACT with other states and territories who allow an out-of-state service address for caveats.
Why it’s important
The Housing and Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Act 2026 improves the everyday function of laws relied upon by Canberrans.
The changes address issues raised by stakeholders to improve processes in tenancy, unit titles, retirement villages and land titles laws.
The changes to general meetings for owners corporations address known concerns about owners corporations meetings. They also directly respond to recommendations from the Inquiry into the Management of Strata Properties.
The Act also supports the ACT’s transition to household electrification. The Act removes barriers to landlords transitioning rental properties from gas to electric appliances. Household electrification contributes to the Government's broader commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2045.
Further changes modernise land titles processes through changes to caveats. Retirement village dispute resolution is also simplified while keeping access to independent dispute resolution through other channels.
Next steps
The Housing and Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced in the Legislative Assembly on 17 September 2026.
It was notified on the ACT Legislation Register as the Housing and Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Act 2026 on 9 November 2026.
Different parts of the Act will take affect at different times:
- Changes to land title caveats and owners corporation meetings, including quorum requirements for owners corporations and unit titled retirement villages, commence on 9 February 2027.
- Changes to resolving disputes in retirement villages commence on 9 May 2027.
- Changes to renting laws supporting the transition from gas to electric appliances will commence on 9 November 2027, unless the Attorney-General sets an earlier date for commencement.