The Property Council is warning the ACT's proposed property developer licensing scheme will put a roadblock in the way of more affordable homes.
Shane Martin, the council's ACT executive director, said the scheme would penalise the overwhelming majority of developers who did the right thing.
"Imposing additional and significant risk on developers will reduce local investment and drive the many good developers out of our city," Mr Martin said.
"With the drive to increase housing supply in the ACT and to address the housing affordability crisis, one needs to ask, who is providing ACT's housing supply and whether this new law will help or hinder those objectives?
"There are ways to achieve the balance, there are other ways to lift building quality without discouraging residential investment."
Building Minister Rebecca Vassarotti on Friday used a speech to the Master Builders Association ACT conference to warn dodgy operators the government was coming for them.
"The Property Council even claimed this move will stop all housing investment as we know it. This isn't even close to being a serious claim," Ms Vassarotti was due to say of developer licensing.
Ms Vassarotti introduced a long-awaited bill to the Legislative Assembly in November 2023 to establish the scheme, which includes a public register and new government powers to issue rectification orders.
The licensing scheme will mean builders and property developers are considered liable for building defects for the first two years after a building is occupied unless they can prove otherwise.
Ms Vassarotti says personal liability for developers, which has been criticised by the industry, would only kick in when directors refuse to meet community obligations.
"Directors and business owners already have a responsibility and incentive to drive confidence in their business - and building quality could not be a more important aspect of driving confidence in this industry," she said.
But Mr Martin said the personal liability would create an unacceptably high risk that would divert residential development and investment out of the ACT.
"Now is not the time to put up roadblocks to building the homes that we need to keep our houses affordable," he said.
Mr Martin said the scheme did not line up with other jurisdictions and more work was needed to get the scheme to work.
Ms Vassarotti also announced work had begun on a future trades licensing scheme for the ACT.
Master Builders ACT chief executive Michael Hopkins welcomed the announcement.
"Improving the accountability framework for design and building practitioners in the ACT is a critical part of improving building quality," Mr Hopkins said.
"A licensing scheme for structural trades such as carpenters and waterproofers is commonplace in other jurisdictions but is a noticeable gap in the ACT's building regulatory framework."
