Canberra Renters Speak Out as Duplicate Listing Images Leave Them Chasing Ghosts

Canberra renters are losing hundreds of dollars in application fees and burning through leave entitlements attending inspections for properties that either no longer exist as shown or were never available in the first place — a problem community members say is being driven by the unchecked recycling of listing images across major real estate platforms.

The practice, widely known as duplicate image replacement, involves landlords or agencies reposting old or altered photographs when relisting a property, sometimes years after those images were taken and often after significant renovations or damage have changed the interior substantially. In a city where the median weekly rent for a two-bedroom unit sits above $580, according to ACT Government data published in the March 2026 quarter, the financial and emotional toll of turning up to a property that bears little resemblance to its online listing has become a live grievance.

The timing matters. Sydney's record-breaking June temperatures have pushed a fresh wave of interstate migrants toward Canberra, compressing an already tight vacancy rate. The ACT rental market recorded a vacancy rate below one percent for the fifth consecutive quarter to June 2026, according to figures released by the Real Estate Institute of the ACT. More applicants per property means platforms have less incentive to self-regulate listing accuracy, and landlords face little formal pressure to update images before relisting.

What Residents Are Encountering on the Ground

In Gungahlin, residents connected through the Gungahlin Community Facebook group — which has more than 14,000 members — have been sharing screenshots of listings where the kitchen, bathroom or living area photographed appears to belong to an entirely different unit in the same complex. One thread posted in late June drew more than 200 comments within 48 hours, with people describing arriving at properties on Gundaroo Drive and Gozzard Street to find interiors stripped of the appliances and fittings shown online.

In Belconnen, the problem surfaces around the University of Canberra and the broader Belconnen Town Centre precinct, where high tenant turnover in student-adjacent apartments creates fertile ground for stale listings. Community members attending open homes at complexes near Benjamin Way have described being handed condition reports that contradict the photographic record entirely — fresh paint and timber floors in the listing, worn carpet and cracked cornices in person.

The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, known as ACAT, handles tenancy disputes at its premises on London Circuit in the city centre. Advocates at the Tenants' Union ACT, based on Girrahween Street in Braddon, say they have fielded a growing volume of inquiries this year from renters who want to know whether a misrepresented listing constitutes a breach of the Australian Consumer Law as it applies to residential tenancies in the Territory. The union does not publicly track a single figure for image-related complaints as a standalone category, but staff have acknowledged publicly that misleading marketing is a recurring theme in their casework.

Limited Formal Remedies, But Options Exist

Under the ACT's Residential Tenancies Act 1997, a tenant who can demonstrate they were misled about a property's condition before signing a lease has grounds to seek remedy at ACAT, though the burden of proving the image was deliberately misleading rather than simply outdated remains squarely with the renter. Filing an ACAT application currently costs $90 for claims under $25,000 — a not-insignificant sum for a public servant on an APS3 salary who is already stretched by a bond payment and two weeks advance rent.

The ACT Government's Access Canberra directorate has regulatory oversight of real estate agents operating in the Territory and can investigate complaints of misleading conduct under licensing provisions. Residents who believe an agent has deliberately used false or outdated images can lodge a complaint through the Access Canberra website or in person at the Service Centre on Callam Street in Woden.

For renters navigating the market right now, the Tenants' Union ACT recommends photographing every room at inspection and cross-referencing listing images against the condition report before signing anything. If a property's online photos cannot be verified against what you see at the door, the union advises requesting updated imagery in writing before committing to an application fee. That request creates a paper trail — one that carries weight if a dispute later lands before ACAT.