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Income Related Rent : Contents

When the rate of Income Related Rent is decreased

Following a change in circumstances, when there is a decrease to the rate of Income Related Rent, the housing provider is notified of the decrease if it makes a material difference to the rate.

The housing provider must:

  • review the amount of rent charged
  • change the amount of the rent charged (unless in their opinion it would not make a material difference to the rent currently charged)
  • advise us that they are changing the amount of the rent charged (or not) and the new rent effective date and
  • advise the tenant about the change to the amount of rent and the new rent effective date

The housing provider must decrease the rent from the earliest rent effective date following the notification (ie, no 60-day notice period or 14-day notice period applies).

Change to the rate does not make a material difference

A change to the rate of Income Related Rent will not be activated or notified to the housing provider if the change does not make a material difference.

For more information see:

Backdating to a date prior to the earliest rent effective date

In the situation where you have made the decision to backdate the rate of Income Related Rent to a date that is prior to the next earliest rent effective date you must:

  • activate the new rate of Income Related Rent and send the notification to the housing provider and then
  • process the backdate and issue the refund for the appropriate refund period

For more information see:

Legislation

  • Changes in rent (community housing) section 93 Public and Community Housing Management Act 1992
  • Changes in rent (Kāinga Ora) section 73 Public and Community Housing Management Act 1992
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Housing providers must give tenants at least 14 calendar days' notice of any increase in their rate of Income Related Rent due to a change in their circumstances. This is to ensure that the tenant has time to adjust their circumstances to pay the higher rate of rent.

The 14-day notice must be given before the effective date. It could be within the 61-day period, or in addition to it, depending ...

The 60-day notice period ensures that a client gets at least 60 days' notice of an increase in their rent. The 60-day notice period will apply to all increases of rent where the 61-day period is not applicable.

This happens:

If the tenant meets the criteria, you can consider backdating to any earlier date.

The refund period is from:

The refund period is to the rent effective date that the correct rate of Income Related Rent was applied.

The rent effective date is the one-off date on which an increased rate of Income Related Rent is charged.

The rent effective date is aligned with the next charge date.