Residential tenants in Canberra who have been financially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic will not have to pay break lease fees under new measures.
It would also be easier for tenants to terminate a fixed-term lease. Tenants would be able to give three weeks notice and an application would not need to go through the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Tenants would have to provide evidence they had been impacted by COVID-19.
Changes were made to the territory's emergency declaration on the residential tenancies act by Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay on Wednesday.
"In these circumstances, tenants will not be charged a break lease fee or be required to pay additional compensation. However, if they have fallen into rental arrears during the tenancy this money would still be owed as a debt to their landlords," Mr Ramsay said.
"This new measure will provide additional support to COVID-19 impacted tenants by removing the need for them to make an application to the ACAT to terminate their tenancy due to hardship."
The declaration also officially extends a moratorium on rental evictions.
The emergency bill, which has been in place since late-April has now been extended to October 22. This is in line with the government's promise for a six-month moratorium.
Tenants are considered to be financially impacted by COVID-19 if one or more members of the household has lost at least 25 per cent of its income due to the pandemic.
But the government has indicated more changes to the declaration would be made prior to the caretaker period before the election, which would start on September 10.
Submissions from ACT Shelter and the Tenants' Union to the Legislative Assembly's committee into the COVID-19 response have called for protections to stop tenants from being evicted due to rental arrears accrued in the six months when the moratorium is lifted.
