Know Your Script
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Renting & tenancy · Australian Capital Territory

Can my landlord evict me in the ACT for using prescribed cannabis at home?

Clear law, contested application

The short answer

Lawful use of a prescribed medicine is not illegal use of the premises. Where a lessor has an argument at all it usually comes from a smoke, vapour or nuisance term in the agreement — the same term that would apply to tobacco.

General information, not advice. This page describes the law as at the last-checked date shown at the foot of it. It does not take your circumstances into account, and small differences in circumstances change outcomes. If a decision turns on this, speak to someone qualified about your own situation.

What the law actually says

The ACT puts the tenant's obligations in a set of standard terms that every residential tenancy agreement carries, and then makes the tribunal apply a second test before it can terminate on the illegal-use limb.

The standard term. Clause 70 of schedule 1 says the tenant must not (a) use the premises, or permit them to be used, for an illegal purpose; (b) cause or permit nuisance; or (c) interfere, or permit interference, with the quiet enjoyment of the occupiers of nearby premises. Clause 69 requires the premises be used only for residential purposes unless otherwise agreed in writing.

The second test, and it is the important part. Clause 70 carries a note pointing at section 48. Section 48(3) provides that where the application is about use of the premises for an illegal purpose, ACAT must also be satisfied both that the tenant used or permitted the premises to be used for an illegal purpose and that the illegal use justifies the termination of the tenancy. Section 48(4) lists what ACAT may weigh: the nature of the illegal use, any previous illegal use, and the previous history of the tenancy.

So in the ACT even a proven illegal use does not automatically end a tenancy — proportionality is built into the section. And for a medicine dispensed on a valid prescription the first limb is not made out in any event, because the possession is authorised.

What happens if it goes wrong

Termination runs through ACAT, not through the notice alone. The lessor serves a termination notice and, if the tenant does not vacate, applies to ACAT for a termination and possession order. On the illegal-use ground ACAT must work through section 48(3) — both that the illegal use occurred and that it justifies ending the tenancy — with the section 48(4) factors available to it.

Nuisance and interference with a neighbour's quiet enjoyment under clause 70(b) and (c) are breaches of a standard term and are dealt with as such; they are not subject to the extra section 48(3) test, which applies to the illegal-use limb.

We did not read ACAT's decisions, so this page makes no claim about how the tribunal has treated a prescribed patient in practice.

What to carry

  • Your residential tenancy agreement, with any smoke, vapour, odour or nuisance term identified.
  • The pharmacy label, which is what makes your possession lawful.

What to say

  • If asked, you are using a lawfully prescribed medicine. You are generally not required to name your medical condition to a lessor or agent.

What not to do

  • Do not volunteer your diagnosis to an agent. Health information attracts privacy protection and volunteering it rarely helps you.
  • Do not ignore a breach notice. Tribunal timeframes in ACT are short and strict.

Sources

Cite this page

Know Your Script, ‘Whether a landlord in ACT can act on your lawful use at home’ (Australian Capital Territory), https://www.knowyourscript.com.au/tenancy/landlord-evict-for-use/act/ (last checked 2026-08-14, publisher-checked, not reviewed by a practitioner).

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