Energy efficiency standards for rental properties: what you need to know

Energy efficiency standards for rental properties: what you need to know

Many renters in the ACT are living in housing that is not well insulated and this can impact their health, comfort, and well-being at home. Often, those with the least capacity to pay live in homes that are the most expensive to heat and cool.

That’s why, in the ACT, we have introduced a minimum insulation standard for rental properties. Under the new regulation, rental properties must have adequate ceiling insulation.

If you’re a rental property owner or a renter, you need to understand your rights and responsibilities under the regulation for minimum energy efficiency standards.

What is the minimum insulation standard?

Rental properties with no ceiling insulation or existing ceiling insulation below an R-value of R2, will need to upgrade the ceiling insulation to a minimum R-value of R5. The R-value is a measure of how well the insulation performs and R5 is what is typically installed in new builds in the ACT.

It is estimated that over 60% of rental homes, especially those built after 1997, already meet the standard. Many rental properties, such as lower-floor units in apartment complexes and dwellings where insulation cannot be feasibly installed due to physical constraints, such as roof design, will be exempt.

Property owners must keep evidence of compliance, whether or not the ceiling insulation in a rental property needs to be upgraded. . When a rental property is advertised, the advertisement must state whether it meets the standard or not, or has an exemption, and the property owner must maintain evidence of compliance.

What counts as evidence of compliance?

• a receipt for insulation installation services that includes the R-value of the ceiling insulation
• an inspection report from an insulation installer
• an Energy Efficiency Rating report from a building assessor which includes the R-value of the ceiling insulation
• if the property was built after 1997 (when R3 insulation became standard in new homes) a statutory declaration indicating the age of the property and that the existing insulation has not been disturbed
• a statutory declaration that ceiling insulation with an R-value of R2 or more has been installed.

When a new lease is signed, rental providers must upgrade their property’s insulation within nine months if it does not already meet the standard or have a valid exemption.

If the insulation in a rental property needs to be upgraded, property owners must engage a certified insulation installer to do the work. An electrical safety inspection must be undertaken by a licenced electrician and a Required Electrical Work Report provided to the owner and installer before insulation can be installed and, if any issues are identified, they will need to be remedied by a licenced electrician and a Completed Electrical Work Report provided to the owner and installer. The property owner must keep copies of these reports and a copy of the Certificate of Electrical Safety that is submitted by the electrician to Access Canberra after the work is undertaken.

All insulation installers and licensed electricians must have current asbestos awareness training. If they inspect a property and suspect that asbestos is present, they must notify the property owner.

What financial support is available for rental property owners to install insulation?

Zero-interest loans of up to $15,000 are now available for ceiling insulation through the Sustainable Household Scheme for eligible rental providers.

The Home Energy Support Program provides rebates for the cost of insulation upgrades to not-for-profit community housing providers and for rental providers registered under the Community Land Tax Exemption Scheme.

For more information about the regulation, visit the Justice and Community website.