Public housing in the ACT: a guide for Housing ACT tenants

Your rights as a Housing ACT tenant

Housing ACT says your rights and responsibilities “are the same as other renters in the ACT”. The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT) and its standard tenancy terms apply to your lease. The government’s Renting Book also applies to public housing, but it doesn’t cover the extra rules for ending a public tenancy (see below).

Housing ACT’s lease adds some rules of its own. You must:

• pay your rent 2 weeks in advance;
• tell Housing ACT about changes in your household, and about any damage;
• apply for a new rental rebate if your household income goes up;
• not be away from the home for more than 4 weeks without telling Housing ACT, or let someone else move in without telling it.

Housing ACT is run by the ACT Government’s Health and Community Services Directorate. Your day-to-day contact is your housing manager.

Housing ACT maintenance: how to report a repair

Repairs to Housing ACT homes are done by Programmed Facilities Management (Programmed). Contact Programmed directly:

• Phone: 02 6207 1500
• SMS: 0438 100 500
• Email: [email protected]

If something is dangerous, such as a gas leak or an electrical fault, and anyone is at risk, call 000 first.

Programmed decides how urgent the repair is, tells you how long it will take and calls you to arrange a time. Housing ACT publishes these timeframes:

Category	What it covers (Housing ACT’s description)	Timeframe
Urgent	A dangerous situation, or the home will be damaged further without a quick repair: a burst water service, gas leak, electrical fault, your only toilet not working, serious storm or fire damage	Within 4 hours, to make the home safe
Priority next day	An essential service fails: no hot water, heating or cooking	By 6:00 pm the next day
Priority	A problem that could affect your health, safety or security: hot water slow to heat, most of the stove not working, a loose toilet pan	Within 5 days
Normal	A loose internal door handle, a cracked tile, a sticking window or gate, a slow-leaking tap	Within 20 days, or added to planned maintenance

Source: Housing ACT, Get repairs to your public housing home, last updated 29 June 2026. Planned maintenance, such as new floor coverings, painting and kitchen or bathroom upgrades, usually happens over the following year.

If you’re unhappy with a repair, complain to Programmed first. Programmed replies within 16 working days. If that doesn’t fix it, complain to Housing ACT (see complaints). Private renters have different repair rules and timeframes: see getting repairs done.

Who pays for repairs

Housing ACT pays for wear and tear, such as a hot water system breaking down or a roof leaking after a storm. You pay for damage you, your visitors or your pets cause, even by accident, and for replacing missing items such as flyscreens, doors and heaters.

Programmed tells you when you report the repair whether it’s your responsibility. If it is, you get a letter with the cost and how to pay, and you can ask your housing manager about a payment plan. If you’re charged for damage you didn’t cause, dispute it using the form that comes with the letter. A statutory declaration, or a police incident number for a break-in, can support your dispute. If the damage was caused by domestic or family violence, talk to your housing manager about the charges.

You need Housing ACT’s permission to change or add to the home. If you need changes because of a disability, Housing ACT assesses your situation and pays for the changes needed.

Rent and rental rebates

You pay either the full market rent for your home, set by an independent valuer, or a lower rent if you get a rental rebate. Housing ACT’s page says that with a rebate “your rent will be 25% of your total household income”. Its rental rebate policy counts some income at a lower rate (Family Tax Benefit Part A, and the income of independent residents under 18, at 10%), with a minimum rent of $5 a week and never more than the market rent.

• Apply after you sign your lease, with proof of income for everyone in the household aged 16 and over. Documents must be no more than 4 weeks old.
• Reapply every 12 months. You get a reminder letter. If you don’t reapply by the due date, you’re charged the full market rent.
• Report changes to your household or income within 21 days. If Housing ACT finds out later, you may have to pay backdated rent.
• If your income drops, you can apply again. The new rebate usually starts from the date Housing ACT receives your application.

New Housing ACT tenants get the first 2 weeks rent free and don’t pay a bond. Commonwealth Rent Assistance isn’t paid to public housing tenants.

Behind on rent

Contact your housing manager as soon as you’re worried about paying. Housing ACT says that if you don’t contact it to arrange a way to pay a rent debt, it may apply to ACAT for an order making you pay the debt, or to evict you. Get free legal advice early. See also paying rent.

Transfers, downsizing and swaps

You can apply to move to another public housing home. Housing ACT treats a transfer like a new application, on one of three waiting lists: priority, high needs and standard. Talk to your housing manager first.

• Priority transfer: you must show why your home isn’t suitable or why your need is urgent, with supporting letters from doctors, teachers or social workers, or an occupational therapist’s assessment.
• Downsizing: moving to a home with fewer bedrooms is a type of transfer. Ask Housing ACT about help with moving costs.
• Swaps (mutual exchange): you can register to swap homes with another tenant. Both households apply, Housing ACT inspects both homes, and neither tenant can owe it money. Don’t swap until Housing ACT approves it.

At 30 September 2026, Housing ACT reported 1,102 approved applications on the transfer waiting list. Average waits were 518 days for priority, 1,110 days for high needs and 1,618 days for standard transfers. Housing ACT says the averages are a guide only.

If you’re experiencing domestic or family violence, you can ask Housing ACT about moving, security upgrades and help with damage or debt the violence caused.

Moving out of public housing

To end your tenancy, give Housing ACT at least 3 weeks’ notice in writing (standard term 88). Housing ACT has a notice of intention to vacate form you can email. Then:

1. Keep paying rent for the last 3 weeks and give a forwarding address.
2. Leave the home clean. Housing ACT also asks you to have the carpets professionally cleaned and give it the receipt.
3. Book and attend the final inspection with your housing manager.
4. Return the keys with Housing ACT’s surrender of keys form.

Housing ACT bills any unpaid rent, cleaning or repair costs, and refunds any credit on your account. If you’re leaving because of family violence, a family violence termination notice can let you leave sooner.

When Housing ACT can end your tenancy

Housing ACT can’t end a tenancy without a reason. Every public housing lease includes the public housing termination clauses in Schedule 2, section 2.3 of the Residential Tenancies Act (section 8(1)(b)). They allow Housing ACT to give notice in three situations:

Clause	Situation	Notice
104	Housing ACT decides you’re no longer eligible for housing assistance, or cancels it because you didn’t give information it asked for, and you can no longer seek a review	At least 26 weeks
105	Housing ACT requires you to move to other premises, you reject or don’t accept the offer, and you can no longer seek a review	At least 26 weeks
106	You’ve agreed to move and the new tenancy has started	At least 1 week, for the first home

Under clauses 104 and 105 you can leave before the notice ends, on 2 weeks’ notice, or 4 days in the last 2 weeks. If a clause 104 notice was for not giving information and you give it before the notice ends, the notice is taken to be withdrawn.

If you don’t leave, Housing ACT needs an order from ACAT. For these grounds, ACAT must be satisfied that ending the tenancy is reasonable and proportionate (section 47). It must consider the history and length of the tenancy, your conduct and the hardship you’d face, including the risk of homelessness and effects on your health. ACAT doesn’t review the decision itself to require a move or end your assistance: that goes through the review process below, which is why the clauses wait until you can no longer seek a review.

Housing ACT can also use the grounds that apply to all tenants, such as rent arrears or other breaches of the lease. See ending a tenancy. If you get any notice from Housing ACT, contact Canberra Community Law straight away.

Reviews and complaints

Asking for a decision review

If Housing ACT refuses you housing, a rental rebate or a transfer, puts you in a waiting list category you disagree with, or decides you’re no longer eligible, you can ask for a review. You have 28 days from the decision letter.

1. Talk to the person who made the decision.
2. First level review: send Housing ACT’s review form to [email protected] or hand it in. Housing ACT replies within 28 days of receiving it.
3. Second level review: ask within 28 days of the date on the first level response. A senior staff member reviews the decision.
4. ACAT: you can then apply to ACAT for an independent review. ACAT says to apply within 28 days of the decision. Housing ACT says ACAT review is free for its tenants. ACAT’s own fee rules exempt concession card holders and people represented by Canberra Community Law or Legal Aid. Otherwise ACAT’s 2026–27 fee for a review is $443, and you can ask ACAT to waive it for hardship.

If you need an interpreter for a review, Housing ACT says the ACT Government will pay for it.

Making a complaint

To complain about Housing ACT services, staff, neighbours or processes, call 02 6207 1515, email [email protected], or write to Locked Bag 3000, Belconnen ACT 2617. For a repair, complain to Programmed first.

A complaint won’t change a decision, such as your waiting list category: use a decision review for that. If you think you’ve been treated unfairly by Housing ACT, you can also complain to the ACT Ombudsman.

Contacting Housing ACT

What you need	Contact (as published by Housing ACT)
Repairs and maintenance (Programmed)	02 6207 1500, SMS 0438 100 500, [email protected]
Customer service, rental rebates	1800 950 255, [email protected]
Complaints	02 6207 1515, [email protected]
Interpreter	Call the Translating and Interpreter Service on 13 14 50 and ask them to call Housing ACT
In person	153 Emu Bank, Belconnen
Post	Housing ACT, Locked Bag 3000, Belconnen ACT 2617

Housing ACT’s customer service hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, closed on public holidays. You can’t pay rent at Housing ACT: pay through Centrelink deductions, direct debit, Access Canberra, Australia Post or BPAY.

Free advice for public housing tenants

Canberra Community Law’s Housing Law service gives free legal advice to Housing ACT and community housing tenants: getting public housing, evictions, rent arrears, transfers, housing debts and repairs. It can talk to Housing ACT for you, help you challenge decisions and represent you at ACAT. Call (02) 6218 7900. Its public housing duty lawyer is at ACAT on Thursday mornings.

Legal Aid ACT’s Tenancy Advice Service is for private renters and doesn’t cover public housing. For other services, see free tenancy advice in the ACT.

Community housing is run by community organisations, not Housing ACT. Canberra Community Law advises community housing tenants too. Complaints about a community housing provider go to the ACT Social Services Registrar on 02 6207 5474.