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The rent policy required of CHPs is being updated to align rent assessments across social housing. The aim is for all eligible applicants housed from the housing register to have rent assessed using the same assessable incomes and rates.

This policy has been developed but there is no date yet for it to commence. You will get an update prior to its implementation and CH tenants who will be impacted will have a long lead in time.

Current differences between public and community housing rents, and that which will change include:

The Department is still working on FAQs, key messages etc. to be made available before the policy is launched.  CHPs will need an implementation plan and no household is meant to experience financial hardship as a result of the changes.

• An implementation plan will be required to be submitted to the Dept by all providers.
• Once commenced, the policy can be applied immediately for new tenants.

CHPs will have to:

• Amend current rent policy to reflect and include how they will be sensitive to the household’s circumstances (s17 of the housing regulations 2015 require providers to keep a rent policy and implement it consistently and fairly.
• Reflect how they apply any decisions/ considerations for any discounts applied ot household rent calculations.

For sitting tenants:

• Providers must consider tenants’ existing costs and their ability to pay
• Manage any rent increases on a case-by-case basis
• Graduate increases
• Options to ‘grandfather’ if providers choose

About 80% of the CH portfolio are smaller household types. It is the bigger intergenerational households that will be most impacted –  about 20% of sitting CH renters. Most of these are on fixed incomes so the transition will be difficult. Dept are not prescribing timeframes and are stating that hardship impact must be minimalised and considered when implementing the policy. Some guestimates of rent increase impacts are::

• Single people and couples – impact likely to be 6.15% maximum – 0 – $7.50 per week
• Small families with one adult child – 20.1% max – $38.38 per week
• Large households with multiple children –   42.7% max – $104.15 per week!

Providers will have a choice not to charge the 25% on income as rent i.e. not to pursue all or some of the increases at their discretion. This might be something we advocate for those severely impacted households once the policy is implemented.

A final note

This policy has not yet been implemented. You will receive further information prior to commencement and there will be lead in time. This is just initial information.

The Department have developed new product to deliver subsidies to Community Housing providers who house you people on low incomes such as Youth Allowance. This is a response to CHPs concerns that housing yp is costly to the providers, given the income-based rent model, and a disincentive to housing them.

Eligibility for Youth Subsidy will include: –

• The young person is the primary tenant on a GTA in a registered community housing (CH) service.
• They are between 16- 25yrs and offered housing from the housing register
• Their assessable household income is less than JobSeeker Payments
• They are paying no more than 25% of assessable household income plus 100% of CRA

The subsidy is the difference between the young person’s income, (usually) Youth Allowance, and the JobSeeker Allowance.

Subsidy is paid to CH providers quarterly but the rate is calculated each July ( i.e. not indexed as statutory income increases)

CHPs (including new youth foyers) must register for the youth subsidy

• CHP submits the claim based on all the young people (yp) eligible in the quarter x how many weeks they have been housed @ the level of subsidy per yp.
• CHPs are paid by the Dept on a quarterly basis following the submission of the claim.

New online claim form goes live in September for claims from July 1 just passed.

Please keep checking back!