Some tenants of Housing ACT were living in unsafe and hazardous housing conditions for extended periods due to poor communication between the agency, tenants and maintenance contractors, according to an investigation by the ACT Ombudsman.

The report follows multiple complaints received by the Ombudsman between July 2024 and November 2025 about delays in repairs and maintenance requests, alongside media reports of tenants living in properties posing serious health and safety risks.

ACT Ombudsman Iain Anderson said the findings raised concerns about the management of public housing in the territory.

“Housing ACT is the biggest landlord in the ACT, providing public housing to some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” Mr Anderson said.

“In these cases, Housing ACT has not satisfied its legal obligations as a landlord.”

The investigation identified a range of serious issues in public housing properties, including collapsing retaining walls and ceilings, leaking sewage, mould, faulty smoke detectors and exposed wiring.

At the time of the investigation, Housing ACT was responsible for maintaining 11,868 public housing properties. Maintenance and repair work was contracted to private company Programmed Facilities Management.

The Ombudsman found communication failures between the agency, contractors and tenants contributed to delays and confusion about repairs. Some tenants were reportedly charged for maintenance without warning or were not informed about progress on repair requests for months.

“We found that requests were taking far too long to complete, leaving some tenants in hazardous situations with mould or leaking roofs in their homes,” Mr Anderson said.

The investigation identified four key areas requiring improvement: the timeliness of repairs, communication with tenants, complaint resolution processes and quality assurance monitoring of maintenance work.

The Ombudsman made eight recommendations aimed at helping Housing ACT meet its legislative obligations, ensuring tenants have access to safe housing and improving oversight of the ACT’s public housing assets.

In September, the ACT Government announced that Infrastructure Canberra would take on responsibility for delivering public housing maintenance works alongside Programmed Facilities Management until the contractor’s agreement expires in late 2026.

While responsibility for maintaining the territory’s public housing assets is set to change, the Ombudsman said the recommendations remain relevant to ensuring public housing maintenance is delivered effectively, regardless of which entity provides the service.

The full report is available on the ACT Ombudsman website.

Is it too much to ask ACT Housing keep tenants safe and dry?