.png){kind=spacer}
We are calling for comprehensive solutions, including mandatory minimum rental standards requiring electric replacements for gas appliances at end of life and shifting fixed gas connection costs to landlords
Nearly three million Australian households rent and most of them are locked out of the savings that come with going electric. While owner-occupiers are cutting their energy bills with solar, batteries and efficient electric appliances, renters are stuck paying for whatever old, inefficient, often gas-powered appliances their landlord installed. Only 11% of rental homes have solar, compared to a third of all homes.
The split incentive of landlords paying for home upgrades but renters paying for energy bills makes getting off gas and electrifying rental properties a hard nut to crack.
There's another problem looming too. As more owner-occupiers leave the gas network, fewer customers are left to share its fixed costs and gas bills will rise. Without action, it will be renters who are left behind, paying more for a network they can't leave.
Policy is starting to move. Victoria has legislated comprehensive minimum rental standards from March 2027 - a national first. NSW is now consulting on its own minimum energy efficiency standards. We welcome this momentum. But renters need more than one fix.
Replace gas with electric at end of life. Minimum rental standards in every state and territory should require that gas hot water systems and heaters are replaced with efficient electric alternatives when they break. Gas cooktops should be replaced with induction. Renters should also be provided with switchboards that support modern energy needs.
Shift gas fixed costs to landlords. Renters carry the full cost of a gas connection - a connection they didn't choose and can't remove. Fixed gas costs should sit with the landlord, the same way water bills already do. This creates a real incentive to get rental properties off gas.
Mandatory energy disclosure. Before signing a lease, renters should know what a home will cost to heat and cool. No state currently requires this. NSW is trialling a voluntary scheme - it should be made mandatory and aligned with minimum standards.
Finance and rebates that actually work. Landlords shouldn't be able to cite cost as an excuse for inaction. We're calling for government-backed loans - repayable at point of sale, not from regular income - alongside targeted rebates and tax incentives for electrification upgrades.
A right to plug in. Renters should have the right to connect portable clean energy devices, including portable batteries, balcony solar and bidirectional EV chargers, without needing landlord permission, as long as the installation meets safety standards.
You don't have to wait for your landlord or your government.
Cooking: A portable induction cooktop sits on your bench, plugs into a standard power point, needs no installation, and starts at around $50. It moves with you when you leave.
Heating and cooling: Ask your landlord about a reverse cycle air conditioner - the health impacts of gas and the legal requirement to service gas heaters regularly are reasonable arguments to raise. Seal gaps under doors and use thermal curtains to reduce how hard any system has to work.
Energy plan: You don't need solar panels to access solar power. From 1 July 2026, all energy retailers in NSW, Queensland and South Australia must offer three free hours of solar energy daily. Shop around at energymadeeasy.gov.au.
Your car: Sixty percent of a household's energy costs go to fuelling a car. Switching to an EV and charging at home via a standard power point is one of the single biggest things a renter can do. No landlord permission required.
What is Rewiring Australia doing to help renters electrify?
Electrifying our homes and cars is the recipe to cut emissions and save money for Australian homes. Let's build an abundant electric future for Australia.
Households can save $4300 a year on their energy bills by ditching gas and petrol and going fully electric reveals Dr Saul Griffith.
.jpg)
“Every day, about 3,000 Australians replace a gas appliance in their home. Another 3,500 buy a new car. In order to lower energy bills, cut dependence on fossil fuels and help the planet, people should be choosing an electric replacement. We’re already seeing communities across the country lead the way on electric upgrades, but governments need to be delivering the plans and policies that will get that done for everyone,” Rewiring Australia CEO Francis Vierboom said.
With support from the Australian Government, a delegation of grassroots young community leaders will take Australia's experience of getting off fossil fuels to the international stage at COP31 next week. The delegation, supported by Rewiring Australia, brings together young, regional and community energy leaders working on everything from helping First Nations communities move away from petrol-powered transport to making rooftop solar and household electrification more accessible.