Housing provider gives 60-day notice period

In certain situations the housing provider must give a 60-day notice period and advise the client of this in writing (not the 61-day period).

A housing provider must use the 60-day notice period when:

• notified by MSD that the rate of Income Related Rent is set at the market rent rate in the following circumstances:
  • when a client has not completed an annual review form or provided sufficient information to process an annual review
  • when a client has had a change in circumstances but has not provided sufficient information to process the review within 10-working days
  • when there is a mismatch of additional occupant contributions and accommodation costs, and it has not been resolved within 10 working days after the date of the mismatch being notified to both clients
• notified by MSD that the rate of Income Related Rent has been increased at annual review due to the annual general adjustment to the rates of MSD's financial assistance
• the client is paying rent at the market rent rate and the housing provider increases the rate of market rent

The amount of the rent charged by the housing provider cannot increase until the earliest rent effective date following the 60-day notice period.

On getting such a notification (where applicable):

• Kāinga Ora must charge the market rent for the housing or
• community housing providers may set the rent themselves but must not charge more than the market rent for the housing and

The 60-day notice period requires the housing provider to consider whether the rent has been increased within a 12-month period. If the rent has been increased within a 12-month period, the housing provider cannot further increase the rent until the 12-month period has finished. This means that in some limited situations, an increase to the market rent rate will not be applied to a social housing client (unless another change of circumstances review changes the rate of Income Related Rent):

• within 12-months of the day after the rent increased last or
• within 12-months after the day the tenancy started

Note that MSD would continue to pay the housing provider the Income Related Rent subsidy during the 180 day period (or applicable part of the period).