Getting repairs done in an ACT rental

What counts as an urgent repair in the ACT?

The standard tenancy terms list the urgent repairs (standard term 60). They cover the premises and any services or fixtures the lessor supplied:

• a burst water service
• a blocked or broken toilet system
• a serious roof leak
• a gas leak
• a dangerous electrical fault
• flooding or serious flood damage
• serious storm or fire damage
• a failure of the gas, electricity or water supply to the home
• the failure of a fridge supplied with the home
• a failure or breakdown of any service essential for hot water, cooking, heating, cooling or laundering
• a fault or damage that makes the home unsafe or insecure
• a fault or damage likely to injure someone or damage property
• a serious fault in a door, staircase, lift or other common area that stops you getting into or using your home properly

Anything else is a non-urgent repair.

Urgent repairs: what to do

1. Tell your lessor or agent as soon as you can. Ring them, then confirm in writing (a text or email) so there’s a record.
2. Let them fix it. Your lessor must carry out urgent repairs “as soon as necessary, having regard to the nature of the problem” (standard term 59). They can come in outside the usual hours, with reasonable notice, to do urgent work.
3. If they can’t be contacted or don’t act within a reasonable time, you can arrange the repair yourself, up to 5% of a year’s rent (standard term 61). At $500 a week, that’s $1,300.

To make sure the lessor pays, follow the rules exactly (standard term 62):

• Use the tradesperson your lease nominates for urgent repairs, if there is one.
• If none is nominated, or they can’t be reached, use a qualified tradesperson of your choice.
• The tradesperson can bill the lessor directly.
• If you don’t follow these steps strictly, you may have to pay for the repair yourself.

Keep copies of your messages, the invoice and photos.

Non-urgent repairs: the 4-week rule

Your lessor must make non-urgent repairs within 4 weeks of being told about them, unless you both agree to a different time (standard term 57). There’s no right to arrange non-urgent repairs yourself and charge the lessor.

The lessor can come in to do or inspect repairs on 1 week’s notice (or another agreed period), at a reasonable time. Visits can’t be on a Sunday or public holiday, or before 8am or after 6pm, unless you agree. See inspections and access.

If you rent an apartment and the repair is to common property, your lessor must take all necessary steps to get the owners corporation to fix it as quickly as possible (standard term 58).

What you’re responsible for

• Telling your lessor about anything that needs repair (you don’t need to report jobs an ordinary tenant would do, like changing a light globe or a fuse).
• Not damaging the home, and reporting any damage as soon as possible.
• Keeping the home reasonably clean, allowing for its condition when you moved in and normal living.
• Replacing smoke alarm batteries.

The lessor doesn’t have to repair damage you caused through negligence or on purpose (standard term 56).

If repairs aren’t done

Don’t withhold rent. The ACT Government’s Renting Book warns that if you do, you’re in breach of your agreement and your lessor may seek to evict you. Use these options instead.

Give a notice to remedy

You can give your lessor written notice that they’ve breached the agreement and have 2 weeks to fix it (standard terms 90 and 91). If they don’t, you can give 2 weeks’ notice that you’re leaving, and the Renting Book says no break lease fee applies. Your lessor can challenge your notice at ACAT, so get advice first.

Apply to ACAT

ACAT can order your lessor to:

• carry out the repair (an order requiring them to comply with the agreement)
• pay compensation for loss the breach caused you
• reduce your rent

A rent reduction isn’t optional for ACAT. If it finds your use or enjoyment of the home “has diminished significantly” because the lessor didn’t maintain the home or something they supplied, it must order a reduction (section 71). The reduction can start from the day the problem began and last up to 12 months, and ACAT can order the lessor to pay back the difference.

ACAT can deal with claims up to $25,000. From 1 July 2026 the application fee for an individual is $93 for disputes of $3,000 or less (or no amount), $195 for $3,000 to $15,000, and $707 above $15,000. Primary holders of a Health Care Card, Low Income Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card are exempt, and you can ask for the fee to be waived if paying would cause hardship. More in how ACAT tenancy applications work.

Floods, storms and a home you can’t live in

Flooding, serious flood damage and serious storm or fire damage are urgent repairs. If the home becomes unfit to live in (standard terms 86 and 87):

• you can end the tenancy on 2 days’ notice
• your lessor can end it on at least 1 week’s notice
• your rent stops (“abates”) from the date the home became uninhabitable
• if neither of you ends it, the rent stops while you can’t live there and the tenancy picks up again when you can

Heating, cooling and hot water

No ACT law requires a rental to have heating or air conditioning. The only minimum housing standard so far is ceiling insulation. But a breakdown of a heater, air conditioner or hot water system the lessor supplied is an urgent repair, and losing it in a Canberra winter may support a rent reduction.

A bill before the ACT Legislative Assembly (the Housing and Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill 2026) would change some rules for homes moving from gas to electric heating. It isn’t law yet. This guide will be updated if it passes.