Ban on no-cause evictions and rental bidding welcomed by Canberra renters and advocates

But the territory's peak body for real estate industry said it would have preferred more time to adjust to the changes, which come into effect on April 1.

Changes to the Residential Tenancies Act passed the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, banning landlords in the ACT from ending a tenancy agreement without reason.

In an Australian first, the ban on no-cause evictions will also apply after an initial 12-month lease agreement ends.

Bernadette Barrett, advocacy coordinator at Better Renting, said the changes were an "enormous" milestone for the ACT that would give renters "more stability and security in their homes".

She said the removal of no-cause evictions was a significant victory for renters that would empower them to negotiate with landlords and request necessary repairs "without fear of retaliation".

"Renters, for a long time, have been scared to raise issues with their home, particularly in the current rental market that we have - it's really easy for a landlord to find a new tenant," Ms Barrett said.

"[Renters] really don't want to rock the boat and so they are existing with substandard situations."

Among a series of changes from next month, agents and landlords will also be banned from encouraging rent bidding and will be required to disclose whether a property meets minimum standards.

Renter Lachlan Cropley relocated to Canberra from Victoria at the start of the year and said it was "worrying" to find out renters would routinely outbid each other to secure a home.

"It almost seems like an assumption that I should be doing that as well just so that I can get ahead of other people," he said.

Mr Cropley welcomed the changes but said he was surprised no-cause evictions weren't already banned in the ACT.

"That's something that should already be in place, to be honest," he said.

"There should always be a reason for someone being evicted, especially when it is their home."

Real Estate Institute of the ACT CEO Maria Edwards said while the industry was well aware the reforms were coming, it was disappointing to have less than two weeks to prepare for their introduction.

"As yet, we don't have any fact sheets or anything like that to hand to our members so that just makes it a bit tricky as far as timing is concerned," she said.

MORE PROPERTY NEWS:

Research released by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute in 2022 found tenancy law reforms in NSW and Victoria had very little impact on landlords' decisions to invest in, or stop investing in, rental housing.

Of the 970 investors surveyed, 14 per cent said dissatisfaction with tenancy laws was "very important" in their decision to sell.

Ms Edwards said it would be a "wait and see approach" to understand what impact the reforms would have in the ACT.

"There's genuine concern across the real estate industry that just more reform and regulation is going to tighten the market up even more," she said.

"I think the lack of clarity around ending evictions, and how that's going to play out in ACAT, is really concerning and we're not going to know until we have to go through that process."

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