Accommodation that the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 does not apply to

Accommodation Security Cover Grant is only available to clients who are entering accommodation that the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 does not apply to.

These accommodation agreements may include, but are not limited to:

• flat or house share agreements where the client has not signed a tenancy agreement (e.g. a flatmate that sub-lets from a head tenant)
• hire agreement for a relocatable home including a cabin, mobile home or caravan where:
  • it is on a campground and the client intends to stay for less than 51 days, or
  • on any other premises for any amount of time where the land and accommodation are not owned by the same person or
  • on a property where both the land and accommodation are owned by the same person and facilities are shared with the owner
• a lodging arrangement
• a boarding agreement where the client is either:
  • in a boarding house with 6 or more boarders but the client intends to and does stay for less than 28 days
  • in accommodation that is not a boarding house
• commercial accommodation such as hotels, motels, and homestays that the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 does not apply to. This excludes the following accommodation as they are not eligible to get an Accommodation Security Cover Grant:
  • emergency housing funded by an Emergency Housing Grant
  • transitional housing funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and
  • contracted emergency housing funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
• an additional occupant in a social housing property that is not a tenant or a signatory on the tenancy agreement

MSD will need to assess a client’s accommodation agreement to determine whether the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 applies.

Clients may be living in accommodation that is not included in the above list. They may still be eligible for an Accommodation Security Cover Grant if the accommodation they are living in is not specifically excluded.