Consultation opens today, Monday 8 November, from the ACT Government on the implementation of requirements for rental properties to meet a minimum standard for ceiling insulation across Canberra.
ACT Attorney-General and Minister for Energy Shane Rattenbury said all Canberrans deserve to live in a comfortable and energy efficient home. However, for many residents that is not the case, which can have a negative effect on their health and wellbeing.
“Rental properties that are not energy efficient lead to higher energy bills and sometimes dangerously cold or hot homes for the people that call them home. It is often the case that those with the least capacity to pay have no choice but to live in properties that are the most expensive to heat and cool – this is inequitable, and this new minimum standard will help address this issue,” Mr Rattenbury said.
“We now want to further involve the community, particularly renters and rental providers, in charting the pathway to getting this new insulation standard in place. We want feedback on a range of different issues, including on the timeline for phasing in this new regulation, and how the government can help with the transition and any safety assurances along the way.”
He said the government has been clear they wanted to implement a minimum energy efficiency standard in rental properties for some years now and have continued to consult with stakeholders and the community throughout the process.
“I encourage everyone to review the proposed standard and provide your feedback over the coming weeks. We expect this standard will come into force from mid next year with a significant phase-in period, so rental providers and the industry will have plenty of time to plan and upgrade their properties as needed,” Mr Rattenbury said.
“This is the first stage of implementing minimum energy performance standards for rental properties as committed to in 2019 under the ACT Climate Change Strategy. Future stages will consider additional measures to complement the ceiling insulation requirement.”
An ACT Government spokesperson said they are examining options to financially support implementation of the regulation as they’re aware that regulatory changes will impact different parts of the community.
The Vulnerable Households Energy Support Scheme will support the minimum energy implementation through targeted financial assistance to rental owners who provide homes to vulnerable and low-income households.
“The regulation will seek to target only the worse performing properties and there will be a phase-in period of a number of years to allow rental owners that don’t meet the standard plenty of time to comply. Many rental properties, especially those built since the late 1990s, will already meet the standard so there will be no cost to them,” the spokesperson said.
“It is estimated that around 60 per cent of rental properties are already compliant with the proposed standard. Other properties, such as lower floor units in apartment complexes or other dwellings where insulation cannot be feasibly installed due to physical constraints or very high cost, will be exempt.”
The spokesperson said the Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) latest modelling found tenants would still benefit overall from reduced energy costs even if rents were raised to cover the cost of insulation upgrades.
“The analysis found that for every one dollar spent on the minimum standard, $1.30 is returned to the community and over a four-year-phase in period, it would provide around $18 million in benefits to the whole of the ACT community,” they said.
Executive Director of Better Renting and Healthy Homes for Renters, Joel Dignam, said seeing the work starting is really promising and the proposal will make a big difference, but this should be just the beginning.
“While this is a positive start, it absolutely needs to be a foundation. We want to see more done, like stopping drafts and heat not going out through windows,” Mr Dignam said.
“People shouldn’t have to choose between heating their home and staying out of poverty. We want homes that are healthy to live in with healthy temperatures and for people to have a home that won’t leave them shivering all through winter.”
Better Renting began issuing reports in the ACT in 2018, and Mr Dignam said it’s great to see things finally happening.
“We plan to make a submission and engage and support renters around Canberra so they can be part of this as well,” he said.
“Owners of rental properties have had their say, and we want to make sure the people who actually live in these properties have a clear voice, too.”
Interested parties can review and provide input to the government’s plan at yoursayconversations.act.gov.au/minimum-energy-standards
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