ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury has responded by letter to the 75 organisations across Australia that are calling for better protection for the health of renters and the implementation of a healthy homes national standard.
“Everyone deserves a safe and secure place to live. Almost a third of Canberrans rent, so we want to create a fairer, safer rental system for all Canberrans,” Mr Rattenbury said.
Spearheaded by the Healthy Homes for Renters organisation in Canberra, the healthy homes standard initiative comes after a report was published in The Lancet that revealed 6.5 per cent of deaths in Australia could be attributed to the cold, which is a higher rate than in Sweden.
The Better Renting Impact Report also revealed 40 people die annually in Canberra due to cold housing.
Mr Rattenbury said in his response that he shares the concerns of Healthy Homes for Renters that many people in the ACT are living in energy inefficient homes thereby impacting on their health and wellbeing. He thanked the organisation for their advocacy.
“As Attorney-General, I am looking at a range of rental reforms in the ACT, including minimum energy efficiency standards, ending no cause evictions, placing restrictions on rent bidding, and setting clear minimum standards for rental properties, such as accessibility, amenity, security, and sanitation,” he said.
“The ACT Government’s aim is for a regulation to come into force mid-next year, with a phase-in period to allow time for rental providers to comply, and to avoid undue pressure on industry capacity or the rental market.”
The Justice and Community Safety Directorate is currently undertaking a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) to consider all possible options and their impacts.
“We know that many renters in the ACT, often those with the least capacity to pay, are living in energy inefficient properties that are expensive to heat or cool. To address this issue, the ACT Government has committed to introducing minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties in the ACT,” he said.
“In the coming months, we will be asking for stakeholders’ and community input on our proposed standards and how they should be implemented.”
Mr Rattenbury has asked the Directorate to include Healthy Homes for Renters in the consultation process.
He said the ACT Government is supporting rental households to reduce their energy costs by offering free home energy assessments, where the household receives, along with their report, energy saving items including a free heated throw rug.
Additionally, there’s a free government webtool which allows renters to assess their energy efficiency rating and download a report listing the best actions they could take to reduce their household energy use.
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