Refunding the emergency housing contribution

There may be situations when MSD needs to refund part or all of a client's emergency housing contribution.

Refunds can be given when:

• MSD has made an error in the calculation of the contribution, and the client has already paid it or
• the client has overpaid the contribution, for example, their redirection of benefit or wage deduction was not cancelled or updated in time and they have paid more than is required for their grant or
• the client has paid their contribution for the grant but left their emergency accommodation early (before the end of their grant period) because they moved into medium to long-term accommodation that is expected to lead to or be sustainable housing. For example, transitional housing funded by the transitional housing funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, contracted emergency housing, social housing or a private rental or boarding arrangement

A client is paid an Emergency Housing Grant for 12 nights. They pay their emergency contribution upfront by bank transfer. On day 3 they notify MSD that they have found a rental property and the tenancy will begin on day 10 of their grant.

In this situation, MSD can refund the client's contribution for their 3 unused nights (nights 10-12 of the grant). This is because they will have moved to sustainable long-term accommodation.

If the client has not yet paid their contribution, instead of a refund, MSD will need to update the contribution amount to remove the nights of accommodation no longer needed and update any redirections accordingly.

MSD may not refund a client's emergency housing contribution when the client has (not a complete list):

• left, or been asked to leave, their emergency accommodation part way through their grant period (for whatever reason) and
• not moved into medium or long-term accommodation that is expected to lead to or be sustainable housing. This includes when the client has left the emergency accommodation:
  • to move into different emergency accommodation (e.g. a different motel) and both places are funded by an Emergency Housing Grant or
  • to serve a sentence in prison or
  • to have a short-term stay in hospital