Canberra renters struggle to keep homes warm in winter, Better Renting research finds

Caitlin Aspden and her family are renting a townhouse in Canberra's north while their home is being built.

Despite running a heater almost every day, the temperature in their warmest room can dip as low as 11 degrees.

"We've got lots of blankets all over the house ... the kids wear their dressing gowns constantly," Mrs Aspden said.

"We're just rugging up and dressing warm and going out to warm places - even going to the swimming pool is warmer than hanging out at our house sometimes."

Mrs Aspden is one of 74 renters across Australia who tracked the temperature of their homes over June and July.

The research, conducted by tenant advocacy group Better Renting, found ACT homes had the lowest average minimum temperature of any jurisdiction at 7.4 degrees.

Tasmanian rental homes followed closely with an average minimum temperature of 7.5 degrees.

The World Health Organization has proposed 18 degrees as a "safe and well-balanced indoor temperature" during winter in countries with temperate or colder climates.

The eight ACT researchers recorded temperatures below 18 degrees for more than 21 hours a day on average.

Better Renting founder Joel Dignam said the report illustrated just how many renters were living in draughty, uninsulated homes.

"You'd think that with such a cold climate, ACT might have better built homes," he said.

"If they're out there, these renters are certainly not in them."

The Aspden family tracked the temperature of one room in their three-bedroom townhouse, which has a heat pump air conditioning system. The average temperature of the room was 15.7 degrees.

Heating the main room, using a clothes dryer and running oil heaters in the kids' rooms led to an energy bill of $890 for the most recent quarter.

But Mrs Aspden said a cold home goes beyond financial impacts.

"I've got asthma as does one of our kids as well and so on those really cold nights, we notice that they're a bit wheezy ... or waking up with a sore throat because of the cold," she said.

Mr Dignam said what was most striking from the research was the amount of renters suffering in cold conditions despite paying expensive energy bills.

"It's not choosing one or the other - when you're in properties this bad, you're really dealing with both of them," he said.

Better Renting will use the research to urge governments to establish minimum energy efficiency standards for rental homes, something the ACT government is in the midst of introducing.

Before the end of the year, the government will introduce new ceiling insulation requirements in private and public housing rental properties.

The regulation will be phased in over several years to give landlords adequate time to comply.

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Mr Dignam said he would like to see additional energy efficiency measures explored for ACT rental properties.

"I think ceiling installation is part of the picture but combining that with [a requirement for] efficient heaters means that people can be putting heat in their home at a much lower cost and actually getting to some decent temperatures," he said.

In June, ACT Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Shane Rattenbury said the ceiling insulation standard was one of many options identified.

He said additional measures would be considered "following review and evaluation of the implementation and impact of new regulation".

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