Rent

For people who are renting their actual rent costs are their accommodation costs.

When the amount a client pays for their accommodation includes other costs (e.g. service costs) and the accommodation cost can be separately identified as part of the amount they pay, they will be considered renting.

Note rent arrears cannot be included as an accommodation cost.

Sometimes a client's rent includes service costs  such as electricity or a telephone. When this occurs, service costs must be deducted from their accommodation costs.

For more information:

• Rent includes service costs

Where there are joint tenants, for example flatmates, each tenant may apply for the portion of the rent that they pay in separate applications. A client does not need to have their name on a tenancy agreement to be considered renting.

There is one exception:

• Married, civil union or de facto couples in a joint tenancy

When a client gets rent or board payments from someone living in the same premises, it is accommodation income and is deducted from their accommodation costs when calculating the weekly qualifying accommodation costs.

Accommodation income includes:

• Rent a client gets from another person (not being additional occupants or boarders) residing in the same premises, except where the person paying the rent is in a self-contained part of the premises or the rent payment is part of the income of a business on the premises
• 62% of payments for board a client gets from another person residing in the same premises, except where the board payment is part of the income of a business on the premises

Note when accommodation income is more than the client's accommodation costs (after the deduction of the cost of any part of the property not being lived in by the client), the excess amount is income and must be charged against any financial assistance the client gets. In this case, the client will have no weekly qualifying accommodation costs and will not qualify for Accommodation Supplement.

For more information see:

• Boarders - beneficiaries
• Boarders - non-beneficiaries
• Tenant or homeowner has a boarder
• Tenant renting out a room
• Homeowner renting out a room
• Weekly qualifying accommodation costs
• Rent and board payments

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Temporary Accommodation Service helps households affected by a natural disaster to find temporary accommodation while their home is being repaired, rebuilt or until they find alternative accommodation.

Households staying in Temporary Accommodation Services are generally required to pay a rent contribution.

Clients may need to contribute to the cost of their temporary accommodation. MSD may consider the rent contribution for the assessment of Accommodation Supplement when they occupy the premises as a home.

If MSD considers the client does not occupy the premises as a home, Accommodation Supplement cannot be paid for the Temporary Accommodation Service rental costs.

Note Accommodation Supplement can only be paid for one home.

For more information about how to determine if someone occupies a premises as a home see: Temporarily absent from a premises