Weekly qualifying accommodation costs

From 2 March 2026, a client's weekly qualifying accommodation costs are allowable costs for Temporary Additional Support. Temporary Additional Support paid prior to 2 March 2026 will be based on previous settings.

The weekly qualifying accommodation cost is calculated based on the client's accommodation costs, the part of the property they live in and any accommodation income they get.

These costs must also be essential to meet the family's daily living needs and could not be easily avoided or changed when the expense was incurred.

MSD must check whether the client qualifies for Accommodation Supplement. If the client is entitled to an Accommodation Supplement, this must be granted before MSD assesses whether the client qualifies for Temporary Additional Support.

A client or any member of their family does not have to be getting Accommodation Supplement to have their costs included for Temporary Additional Support.

If the client does not qualify for an Accommodation Supplement but has allowable weekly qualifying accommodation costs, these costs are included in the assessment for Temporary Additional Support.

An amount of $34.13 (as at 1 April 2026) is deducted from the total amount of allowable weekly qualifying accommodation costs.

For example, a client who has allowable weekly qualifying accommodation costs of $250.00 per week will have $215.87 per week included in their assessment for Temporary Additional Support.

For more information see:

• Deskfile Allowable cost limits

A client's allowable weekly qualifying accommodation costs must be determined to assess the rate of Temporary Additional Support a client can get.

The weekly qualifying accommodation cost is calculated based on the client’s accommodation costs, the part of the property they live in and any accommodation income they get.

Accommodation costs

The following accommodation types are accommodation costs that can be assessed as allowable weekly qualifying accommodation costs for Temporary Additional Support. Clients must provide verification of their accommodation costs, except for accommodation costs for any emergency housing contribution.

• Rent - water rates can be included as a rental cost for the assessment of Temporary Additional Support when the rental property has a separate water meter and the tenancy agreement states the tenant is responsible for this cost.
• Board - the amount allowed for Temporary Additional Support is 62% of the amount of board paid (excluding arrears)
• Home ownership costs
• Transitional housing contribution - clients who are staying in transitional housing funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development can include their transitional housing contribution (including any arrears) as an accommodation cost
• Emergency housing contribution - clients who are staying in accommodation funded by an Emergency Housing Grant for emergency housing can include their emergency housing contribution (including any arrears) as an accommodation cost

Additional information is needed for clients who:

• live in relocatable cabins, caravans, and motor homes
• were once Idea Services residents
• live in a retirement village
• are retirement village residents with 'Licence to Occupy'
• are in a rent to buy situation
• become prisoners

Accommodation costs that cannot be included

The following accommodation costs cannot be included for Temporary Additional Support:

• arrears the client incurred while they were getting an Accommodation Supplement, Accommodation Benefit (students), Rent Rebate Allowance, Tenure Protection Allowance or Income Related Rent
• arrears for mortgage, rates and insurance
• household consumables for e.g. gas, electricity or water
• accommodation costs that are not for the part of the property the client lives in

Not part of property they live in

When a client doesn't live in part of their property, that part of the property is deducted from their accommodation costs when calculating the weekly qualifying accommodation costs.

This includes when part of the property is:

• primarily used for business purposes
• self-contained and rented to another person/s or
• rented to another person/s who does not reside there

For information on how to calculate part of a property see:

• Self-employed claiming home office expenses
• Homeowner renting out part of their property

Accommodation income

When a client gets rent, board or additional occupant contribution 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
• 62% of contributions a client gets from an additional occupant residing in the same 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.

When calculating the weekly qualifying accommodation costs to assess Temporary Additional Support, the cost of part of the property not lived in must be deducted from the client's accommodation costs before any accommodation income.

If a client is getting Accommodation Supplement, the weekly qualifying accommodation costs used to calculate Accommodation Supplement is the same amount to be used to calculate Temporary Additional Support.

For example:

Franky rents a 3-bedroom house for $850 per week. He uses his home to run a bespoke boat building business with a workshop in the double garage and a bedroom as an office. He calculates the percentage of home space used for his business to determine the business-related costs from using his home.

Franky uses 45 percent of the property where he lives (135sqm/300sqm) for his bespoke boat building business and claims the portion of business home expenses of $19,890 per year ($382.50 per week) in his business accounts.

Franky's friend, Chopper, also boards with him and pays $400 per week (62% of the board payment is $248 accommodation income).

Franky's weekly qualifying accommodation costs for Accommodation Supplement and Temporary Additional Support exclude the portion of his home that he uses to run his business and are then reduced by 62% of the board payments he gets. His weekly qualifying accommodation costs are calculated as $219.50 per week.

Cost of part of property not lived in

Accommodation income

Weekly qualifying accommodation costs