The short answer
You pay for what you use: electricity, gas, water and phone usage. Your lessor pays rates and taxes, the annual water and sewerage supply charge, the cost of physically installing services, and any service that isn't separately metered for your home.
You arrange connection of services in your own name. You can't be required to connect a phone service. If you're struggling with bills, ask your energy retailer about hardship help and the ACT's Electricity, Gas and Water Rebate.
Who pays for what
| Cost | Who pays | Standard term |
|---|---|---|
| Rates and taxes on the property | Lessor | 42 |
| Annual water and sewerage supply charge | Lessor | 44 |
| Physically installing services (water, electricity, gas, phone line) | Lessor | 43 |
| Owners corporation charges (units) | Lessor | 45 |
| Any service without a separate meter for your home | Lessor | 42 |
| Any service the lessor agrees to pay for | Lessor | 42 |
| Usage of electricity, gas, water and phone | You | 46 |
| Connecting services in your own name | You | 43 |
You can’t be required to connect or keep a phone service (standard term 47).
Moving in and out: meter readings
- Before you move in, the lessor pays for everything used up to the reading at the start of the tenancy.
- After you move out, the lessor pays for usage after the end reading, as long as you haven’t used the service since.
- Readings of services in the lessor’s name are the lessor’s job, and they must give you a chance to check them (standard term 48). If they don’t arrange a reading by the day after your notice to vacate ends, they pay for usage after the last reading (standard term 49).
- Services in your name: arrange final readings and disconnection or transfer with your retailer before you leave.
If a tenant leaves without notice, the lessor must arrange a reading within a reasonable time, and the tenant pays up to that reading (standard term 50).
Shared and embedded networks
Where your home isn’t separately metered, as in some apartments or a share house with separate leases for each room, the lessor is responsible for that service. If your building supplies electricity or gas through an embedded network, rental ads for units and townhouses must say so.
Help with energy and water bills
- Electricity, Gas and Water Rebate (formerly the Utilities Concession): $800 for 2026–27 for eligible concession card holders, applied through your energy provider. The account must be in the cardholder’s name. See the ACT Revenue Office.
- Hardship programs: ask your energy retailer about a payment plan or hardship program first.
- ACAT hardship applications: if you can’t agree a realistic plan and you’re facing disconnection, ACAT can hear a hardship application. The utility generally can’t disconnect you while it’s being decided, and there’s no fee.
Gas to electric
A bill before the ACT Legislative Assembly (the Housing and Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill 2026) would change who pays to connect services and how gas supply failures are treated. It isn’t law yet.
Common questions
My apartment doesn't have its own water meter. Do I pay for water?
Generally no. The lessor is responsible for services that don't have a separate meter, because what you used can't be accurately worked out. The ACT Government's Renting Book gives apartments without individual water meters as one case of this.
Who pays the water bill's fixed charge?
The lessor pays the annual supply charge for water and sewerage. You pay the usage (consumption) charges.
Can I go to ACAT about a water bill?
ACAT acts as the ACT's energy and water ombudsman, but it says it can't deal with water complaints by tenants, because the lessor is the water customer, not the tenant. A dispute with your lessor about water charges under your lease is a tenancy dispute, which ACAT can hear.
What is an embedded network?
It's where a building owner or operator supplies electricity or gas to residents through the building's own network instead of directly from a retailer. Rental ads for units and townhouses must say if the home is in one, and the unit title rental certificate covers it.
Sources for this guide (4)
- Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT), Schedule 1 clauses 42–50 (republication R84) (ACT Legislation Register)
- The Renting Book, January 2026 (ACT Government)
- Electricity, Gas and Water Rebate (ACT Revenue Office)
- Energy and water cases (ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal)
This guide is general information about ACT renting law as at the date above. It isn't legal advice. Laws and notices change and details matter, so check your own situation with a free advice service before you rely on it.