2026 ACT Property Settlement Guide: Crown Leases, Conveyance Duty & Canberra Buying Steps

Key Insights for ACT Property Settlement in 2026

What does buying property in the ACT actually mean under Crown leasehold? When you purchase residential property in the ACT, you are acquiring the seller's registered leasehold interest — not freehold land ownership. The Crown (the ACT Government) retains underlying ownership of the land. Your conveyancer or solicitor must review the Crown lease itself, not just the contract, to check the lease term, permitted use, any development covenants, and whether any restrictions on transfer apply. Most standard residential sales proceed without requiring Territory consent, but concessional leases or leases with unsatisfied building covenants may require a separate approval process before settlement can complete.

When does an ACT property transfer require Territory consent? Territory Planning Authority consent is required where the Crown lease restricts transfer, is a concessional lease, or contains building and development covenants that have not yet been satisfied. A typical covenant may require construction to start within 12 months and finish within 24 months of the original grant. If consent is needed, the application must be lodged well before your settlement date — delays in obtaining consent can jeopardise the entire transaction. Consent is not required in certain cases including death of the lessee, bankruptcy, or specified family court orders. Your ACT legal practitioner should identify whether consent applies to your specific property before you exchange contracts.

How has the Home Buyer Concession Scheme changed from 1 July 2026? The HBCS underwent its most significant reform in years on 1 July 2026. For eligible transactions from that date, the scheme now provides a full conveyance duty concession — meaning eligible buyers pay zero conveyance duty regardless of the purchase price. The income test and property value limit that previously capped the benefit at $35,238 have both been removed. The five-year ownership test remains (you and your domestic partner must not have held a legal or equitable interest in another property in the preceding five years), and at least one buyer must occupy the property continuously for at least 12 months beginning within one year of settlement. The concession is self-assessed through the Buyer Verification Declaration in ACTLIS before registration. Retaining supporting evidence for at least five years is mandatory — the ACT Revenue Office can audit concession claims.

What are the current ACT conveyance duty rates for buyers who don't qualify for HBCS? For buyers who do not qualify for the HBCS — including investors and those who have owned property in the past five years — standard conveyance duty applies on the greater of the purchase price or market value. Duty is payable within 14 days after title registration, and the transfer must be lodged for registration within 14 days after settlement. Use our stamp duty calculator to estimate your conveyance duty liability, and confirm the current rate schedule with the ACT Revenue Office before exchange, as rates are subject to annual adjustment. Investors purchasing in the ACT should also note the non-owner-occupier conveyance duty schedule that has applied since 1 July 2025.

How does electronic settlement work in the ACT, and what is PEXA? Most represented ACT settlements now proceed electronically through PEXA (Property Exchange Australia). Only legal practitioners and financial institutions can participate in PEXA — buyers and sellers cannot access the platform directly. At settlement, funds and registry instruments are exchanged electronically by the participating subscribers simultaneously, eliminating the need for physical cheques or in-person attendance. After settlement, the transfer is lodged with the ACT Land Titles Office for registration, making you the registered holder of the Crown lease. If any document is defective, the Land Titles Office may issue a requisition and charge a correction fee — accurate names, concession codes, identity verification and certifications are essential. Self-represented buyers cannot use PEXA and must lodge documents in person at the Dickson Specialised Centre.

How does the APRA DTI cap affect ACT buyers in 2026? Since 1 February 2026, APRA has required regulated lenders to limit new lending at debt-to-income (DTI) ratios of six times or greater to no more than 20 per cent of their new owner-occupier and investor lending portfolios respectively. This is a portfolio-level limit, not an automatic ban on individual loans. In practice, borrowers with high DTI ratios may find fewer lenders willing to approve their application, face stricter internal credit policies, or receive different outcomes between institutions. APRA's standard three-percentage-point serviceability buffer also remains — lenders assess your repayment capacity at the product rate plus 3 per cent. For ACT buyers, where median house prices exceed $1 million, these settings are particularly relevant. Use our borrowing power calculator to understand how much you can borrow under current serviceability rules before you start inspecting properties. For a deeper understanding of how lenders assess your application, read our guide on understanding mortgage pre-approval and our guide on understanding stamp duty and conveyance duty in Australia.