Rent

MSD must check whether the client qualifies for Accommodation Supplement in respect of their accommodation costs.

If the client qualifies for Accommodation Supplement it must be granted before Temporary Additional Support can be paid for those costs.

If the client has a deficiency of income based on other allowable costs, they can get Temporary Additional Support. However, the accommodation costs must not be included until the Accommodation Supplement has been granted.

Rent (including Kāinga Ora and community housing rental properties) may still be included in Temporary Additional Support if the client does not qualify for Accommodation Supplement.

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

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

For more information see:

• Rent includes service costs

When there are joint tenants e.g. flatmates, each tenant may apply for the portion of the rent 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, 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.

For more information see:

• Weekly qualifying accommodation costs
• Rent and board payments
• Additional occupant contributions

People may be in a rent to buy property. These clients are considered homeowners.

For more information see:

• Rent to buy

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 the client occupies their 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 1 home.

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

• Temporarily absent from a premises