|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
You are here: ABSTUDY > 7
Benefits and Allowances > 7.12 Rent Assistance
This chapter contains details about Rent Assistance.
Summary table
The table below summarises Rent Assistance
|
Feature of Allowance |
Details |
|
Availability |
Tertiary and Schooling B Awards. |
|
Purpose |
To assist in meeting the board and lodging expenses of eligible students. |
|
Eligibility conditions |
For students living in private rental accommodation who are paying rent of more than $78.00 a fortnight and who are:
|
|
Rates |
|
|
Other entitlement features |
Dependent on:
Masters and Doctorate students are not entitled to Rent Assistance. |
|
Review |
Rent assistance is reviewed. |
|
Taxation status |
Non taxable. |
Students may apply for Rent Assistance if they are living in private rental accommodation and are receiving the ABSTUDY Living Allowance. The following students are eligible:
Note: Masters and Doctorate students are not eligible for Rent Assistance.
Example: Two independent students in a de facto relationship of less than six months (with no children) are on YA and ABSTUDY. The YA customer is getting rent assistance of $82.80 per fortnight (rate for a member of a couple). The student on ABSTUDY is also eligible for rent assistance of $82.80 per fortnight. If the student was single $88.00 per fortnight would have been payable and if the student was a single sharer $58.70 per fortnight would have been payable.
Payment of Rent Assistance is subject to :
Rent is a payment made by a student for accommodation. Therefore, rent is payment made for costs such as:
Lodging rental payments can be made to the owner of the accommodation, or to the owner’s agent (such as a real estate agent or other landlord). Payments made by students in lieu of rent are included.
Where a student’s rent payment includes an amount for the provision of utilities (electricity, water, telephone rental, etc) that cannot be separately identified, the amount is included as ‘rent’. (Separate payments made towards such services, eg following receipt of accounts, are not regarded as ‘rent’ payments.)
To be considered as ‘rent’, payments must be made by the student to the provider on a regular basis, at the least on a quarterly basis.
Payments made by the student for board associated services such as the provision of meals, laundry and other services are not considered rent: Consideration is given only to payments for lodging (ie the cost of the accommodation).
Where a student pays for board and lodging but the amount for the lodging (rent) component cannot be separately identified by the student, the amount of ‘rent’ paid is considered to be two-thirds of the total board and lodging payment made.
A student who pays board and lodging is not affected by the new maximum rate of Rent Assistance for single students in shared accommodation. However, a student who pays for lodging only may be considered to be in shared accommodation (see 7.12.4.3).
Adrian pays a total of $120 a week for board and lodging in a private home. The owner of the home is unable to give a separate figure for the cost of accommodation only.
Under the ‘two-thirds’ rule, the rent paid by Adrian is $80 a week.
A student who is offered free board and/or lodging by an accommodation provider is not eligible for Rent Assistance.
However, the student can receive Rent Assistance if:
Rent Assistance is available only for eligible students who are:
Note: A student who pays rent to the tenant of public government accommodation is not eligible to receive Rent Assistance (see 7.12.3.6).
Appropriate private rental accommodation means:
Note: Accommodation may be a house, unit, flat, apartment, caravan, mobile home, a vessel, or similar.
A student who is the tenant of housing provided by a government authority (ie the student is the lessee of public accommodation and pays rent to a government authority) is not eligible for Rent Assistance. Normally, such accommodation already attracts a government subsidy.
As a result of a change announced in the 1997 Budget, from 1 January 1998, a student who lives in public housing and pays rent to the tenant (the lessee) of the accommodation, is also not eligible to receive Rent Assistance.
This arrangement only applies to the public dwellings let directly by the State or Territory housing authority. Rent Assistance may still be payable to eligible students if the primary tenant is paying the market rate of rent to the housing authority.
Residents of community housing, paying rent to a community organisation, are also not affected by this arrangement.
Students living in accommodation for which they have an interest are not eligible for Rent Assistance. This includes students who are living in accommodation owned or being purchased by them.
In general, single students under 25 years living in the principal home of a parent are not eligible to receive Rent Assistance. However, there are exceptions. See SS Act section 1064-D1 Qualification for Rent Assistance. Assessed the same as YA.
Eligible students in rental accommodation can receive up to a maximum of $44.00 a week ($88.00 a fortnight) in Rent Assistance.
A lower maximum rate of Rent Assistance applies for single students in shared accommodation. Single students in shared accommodation can receive up to a maximum of two thirds of the existing rate, $29.35 a week ($58.70 a fortnight).
See the following three blocks which define ‘single’, ‘shared’ accommodation and what is considered ‘not shared’ accommodation
For the purpose of the new maximum rate of Rent Assistance applying to single people in shared accommodation, a student will be treated as single if s/he does not have a partner. A partner is someone who is:
For the purpose of Rent Assistance a student will be treated as living in shared accommodation if s/he shares the right to use with other occupants of the accommodation, at least one major area of accommodation. A major area of accommodation is a bathroom, kitchen or bedroom (whether identifiable as separate from other major areas of accommodation or not).
For example: A student living in residential accommodation provided by her/his education institution who shares a kitchen with other residents is considered to be in shared accommodation.
For the purposes of determining whether the lower maximum rate of Rent Assistance is payable, the following living arrangements are not considered to be 'shared' living arrangements.
A student living alone in self-contained accommodation with exclusive use of a bathroom, a bedroom and kitchen facilities (eg a granny flat) is not considered to be in 'shared accommodation' even if the student also uses an area in common with other occupants of the accommodation, eg a common-room or patio.
A student who lives alone in a caravan or mobile home, or on board a vessel, is not considered to be sharing accommodation solely because s/he shares the use of some communal facilities in a caravan park or marina (such as kitchen or bathroom facilities).
A student who pays board (ie pays for meals and other services such as laundry) is not considered to be in shared accommodation. Boarding accommodation may include, for example, hostel/refuge accommodation and residential accommodation provided by the student's education institution, or boarding and lodging in a private home.
A student who lives in a nursing home.
For example: A student living in residential accommodation provided by her/his education institution who pays board and lodgings, ie s/he pays for accommodation and meals (and possibly other services such as laundry), is not considered to be in shared accommodation.
There is no minimum entitlement of Rent Assistance below which no Rent Assistance is payable. However, students must qualify for a Living Allowance to be eligible for Rent Assistance.
Rent assistance is payable only where an eligible student pays rent of more than $39.00 a week ($78.00 a fortnight).
An eligible student whose rent payments are greater than this amount can receive Rent Assistance of $0.75 each week for every $1 that actual rent payments exceed $39.00 a week, up to the maximum entitlement of:
The procedures for assessing a student’s entitlement to Rent Assistance will only change if the student indicates that they are sharing accommodation. There is no change to procedures if a student is not a sharer. Once a student is determined to be a sharer, CSOs need to check that the student does not reside in exempt accommodation.
The following formula can be used to determine the maximum weekly Rent Assistance entitlement based on actual rent payments made:
(A - $39.00) ´ 0.75
where ‘A’ is the actual amount of rent paid.
An eligible student qualifies for the maximum Rent Assistance of $44.00 a week where actual rent payments are at least $98 a week ($196.00 a fortnight).
A single student in shared accommodation qualifies for the maximum Rent Assistance of $29.35 a week where actual rent payments are a maximum of $78.15 a week ($156.30 a fortnight).
Mary is accepted as a homeless student and qualifies for the Student Homeless Rate of ABSTUDY. She rents privately, is not in shared accommodation and is eligible for Rent Assistance.
Mary pays the owner of the accommodation $78.50 a week, of which $20 is for meals.
Mary’s Rent Assistance entitlement is based on her actual weekly rental payment of $58.50; the meals component of $20 a week is not taken into account.
Using the formula, Mary’s entitlement is calculated as follows:
($58.50 - $39.00) ´ 0.75 = $14.60
Subject to the income test, Mary can receive Rent Assistance of $14.60 a week.
Joseph is tertiary student. He shares a house with several other people and is eligible for Rent Assistance.
Joseph's share of the rent is $79.00 a week. From 1 January 2001 Joseph's Rent Assistance has been calculated at the rate for single students in shared rental accommodation, as follows:
($79.00 - $39.00) x 0.75 = $30.00*.
*As Joseph is in shared accommodation he can only receive up to the maximum of $29.35 a week in Rent Assistance.
Phillip is secondary student. He boards and lodges in a private home with a family.
Phillip pays board and lodging of $68.00 a week.
Phillip is not considered to be in shared accommodation as he pays board as part of his rent.
The two thirds rule for boarders and lodgers applies and his rent is calculated at $45.33 a week.
As Phillip pays more than $39.00 a week in rent, he is eligible for some Rent Assistance and receives $4.75 a week based on his weekly rent of $45.33 a week.
A student’s personal income has no affect on Rent Assistance payable by Centrelink.
Students getting rent relief payments but living in State Government provided accommodation (public housing) are not eligible for Rent Assistance.
Some students can receive rent relief payments while living in private (non-Housing Trust) accommodation. In calculating such a students’ Rent Assistance entitlement the amount of any State Housing Trust rent relief payments should be deducted from the total amount of rent paid by the student. If the resulting amount is more than $39.00 a week ($78.00 a fortnight) Rent Assistance may be payable.
Students getting rent relief payments but living in State Government provided accommodation (public housing) are not eligible for Rent Assistance.
Raymond pays $150.00 a week to his landlord for private rental accommodation. He gets $25.00 a week rent relief assistance from the South Australian Housing Trust. The amount of "rent" Raymond pays when calculating his Rent Assistance entitlement is $125.00 a week.
Where a student is eligible for Living Allowance for less than a full year, rent assistance is available corresponding to the period of Living Allowance eligibility.
Annie is an orphan and qualifies for the SHR Living Allowance from 1 January to 30 June 2002. At the beginning of the year, Annie lived in a hostel, paying rent of only $25 a week. Therefore, she was not eligible for Rent Assistance because her rent was below the minimum required. On 15 April 2002, Annie moved into a group house and started to pay rent of $60 a week. From 15 April, Annie becomes eligible to receive Rent Assistance because she is in private accommodation and her actual rent is above the minimum required ($39.00 a week).
This table shows the procedure to calculate Annie’s Rent Assistance entitlement:
| Step |
Calculation |
|
|
1 |
Calculate maximum weekly Rent Assistance based on actual rent paid ($60.00 - $39.00) ´ 0.75 = $15.75 |
|
Annie is entitled to Rent Assistance of $15.75 a week for the period 15 April to 30 June 2002.
Rent assistance payments are not taxable.
Rent assistance is reviewed in order to confirm students’ continuing entitlement. For this review, the students will be required to advise any change in circumstances that may affect their Rent Assistance entitlement.
The review of Rent Assistance entitlement will be incorporated within the entitlement check review process undertaken by the Compliance Section, National Support Office.
Where a single student advises s/he has changed to or from shared accommodation, her/his Rent Assistance entitlement is reassessed from the date of change.
Ashlan has qualified for SHR in 2001. He has been living alone and paying rent of $76 a week. Ashlan has been receiving Rent Assistance of $27.75 a week. Ashlan advises that on 16 April he moved into a group house. As he is single and now in shared accommodation, Ashlan's Rent Assistance will need to be reassessed from 16 April.
From 16 April, Ashlan is only eligible for the new maximum rate of Rent Assistance for students in shared accommodation - $29.35 a week.
Where students advise that their rent payments have changed, their Rent Assistance entitlement is reassessed from the date of change.
Thomas was getting Rent Assistance based on him paying rent of $55.00 a week. From 14 April , his rent is increased to $65.00 a week. He is eligible for increased Rent Assistance from 14 April.
Mary is getting Rent Assistance based on rent of $38.00 a week. On 27 May her rent dropped to $28.00 a week. As her new rent payment is below the minimum rate payable to attract Rent Assistance, Mary is ineligible for Rent Assistance from 27 May. Any overpayment will need to be recovered.
In the same way that Living Allowance is re-assessed where a change in income occurs, Rent Assistance entitlement is reassessed if a student advises that her/his place of residence or circumstances have changed.
Robert was assessed as eligible for Rent Assistance of $21.90 a week for the period 1 January to 31 December. He advises that he has moved from his abode to a new rental property paying $55.00 per week from 3 April 2001. His new rental allowance from Centrelink will be reassessed from the date that he took up residence in his new abode.
Students eligible for Rent Assistance while getting the SHR rate remain eligible for Rent Assistance after they turn 25 years old until the end of their current course of study provided there is no break in ABSTUDY entitlement in that time.
**Where a student completes their current course and continues study into another course without a break in ABSTUDY entitlement, Rent Assistance can continue to be paid. (A break in study of up to twelve months is allowed as long as the student is entitled to ABSTUDY before and after the break.)
Eligibility for Rent Assistance in these circumstances remains subject to the usual requirements for Rent Assistance (eligibility for living allowance, living circumstances and rent paid)
Note: Students aged 25 and over who continue to qualify for Rent Assistance are subject to the lower maximum rate for single students in shared accommodation where this is applicable.
An SHR student can continue to receive Rent Assistance when s/he marries or enters a de facto relationship, if s/he continues to qualify for the Living Allowance.
The amount of Rent Assistance payable to the student remains subject to the usual eligibility criteria as per normal independent students.
Where the partner of a former SHR student (or eligible former SHR student) is not her/himself receiving ABSTUDY or Austudy, Rent Assistance is available to the student based on:
Where both partners are students, both may qualify for Rent Assistance and is assessed on each student’s:
The verification rules apply to people living in informal renting arrangements and apply to new customers applying for Rent Assistance and those who change their accommodation circumstances.
The amount of rent being paid can be verified using:
A person is considered to be in a formal renting arrangement if they are able to verify their rent details by means of a current formal written "lease" or tenancy agreement. This agreement must be in accordance with State requirements and may be known by different names across States and Territories.
Example: Where persons are renting residential premises, the tenancy agreement may be known as a General Tenancy Agreement in Queensland or a Residential Tenancy Agreement in Victoria, Moveable Dwelling Tenancy Agreement (both short or long term) for caravan park residents in Queensland.
If the rent were to be increased either in line with changes in a tenancy agreement (either during the term or when the agreement has become periodic), then acceptable evidence of rent details would be a written notice to the tenant of the rent increase. The notice would need to be signed and dated by the landlord/agent and include their address and be accompanied by the original "lease" or tenancy agreement.
Persons residing in non-Commonwealth funded residential care facilities (that is, nursing homes and other aged care facilities), would be expected to have a formal written agreement. Similarly, persons in retirement villages will have a formal agreement with the village administrator(s). Note, however, that these persons are exempt from having to verify their rent details (see Policy Manual 7.12.6.9).
Where a person does not have a formal written "lease" or tenancy agreement OR the person is not named as a leaseholder or tenant on a formal "lease" or tenancy agreement, the person is considered to be in an informal renting arrangement. Such persons are required to establish their rent liability by means of a rent certificate at the time of lodging a new claim or change of accommodation circumstances (ie, rent amount varied and/or change of address). The rent certificate needs to be signed by the landlord or the person who receives rent payments, eg, an agent, a caravan park manager, a head tenant, a parent or the head of the household. A head tenant would be either the leaseholder or the person in a shared arrangement to whom the customer pays rent.
As outlined above for new customers or those who change their accommodation circumstances, if rent increases or decreases, customers are required to establish or re-establish their rent liability by means of a rent certificate.
Persons in community and disability housing should have a formal agreement setting out what they will pay to the organisation and what assistance will be provided. For the purposes of rent verification, persons in community and disability housing are considered to be in informal renting arrangements and are required to establish their rent liability by means of a rent certificate. This is because the actual amount of rent paid by the person may fluctuate, as it is dependent upon the person’s income and may be assessed as frequently as fortnightly.
The majority of people will fall into either formal or informal renting arrangements. Some groups fit into either category. Certain people will be exempt from having to verify the amount of rent paid.
|
Formal |
Informal |
Formal or Informal |
Exempt |
|
Persons holding a written tenancy agreement with a real estate agent or independent private landlord. |
Persons renting from a private landlord without a formal written tenancy agreement; Person with no written tenancy agreement living with friend/ relative as their landlord; Customer sharing accommodation with other people (eg. head tenants) who hold a written tenancy agreement; Boarders and lodgers in private homes; State Housing Authority sub-tenant; and Community and disability housing residents. |
Person in temporary accommodation may or may not have a written tenancy agreement; Persons in caravan parks – will vary across States – short-term residents more likely to be in informal situation; and Persons paying mooring fees for a vessel. |
Persons in exempt accommodation, ie boarding style accommodation; Persons in refuges; Persons living full-time in non-Commonwealth funded residential care facilities; and Persons in retirement villages. |
In some extreme circumstances when all other avenues have failed, a rent declaration may be submitted instead of a rent certificate as acceptable evidence to verify rent paid. A rent declaration will need to be accompanied by:
In the first instance, persons are required to approach their landlord to have them sign the rent certificate.
Before Rent Assistance is paid on the basis of a rent declaration, the Customer Service Officer (CSO) should contact the landlord or agent. This is to confirm firstly that the landlord or their agent is unwilling to sign the Rent Certificate and secondly, if they are unwilling, to verify the details on the rent declaration. If the CSO determines that the landlord/agent should not be contacted because of real concerns for loss of tenure, the rent declaration may be accepted. Care should be taken to ensure this is only done in extreme cases. As a last resort and when all other avenues have been pursued, a rent declaration may be accepted without supporting documentation.
The following are exempt from having to verify the amount of rent paid:
Note: If persons subsequently change their accommodation circumstances and do not fit into one of the above categories, they will no longer be exempt and will be required to provide rent verification by means of either a tenancy agreement or a rent certification.
The rent certificate and rent declaration require the person to indicate whether the amount of rent paid is for:
The rent certificate and rent declaration require that people who share accommodation include details of:
In certain circumstances Rent Assistance may be paid without documentary evidence as long as acceptable evidence is produced within 4 weeks of the claim. Provided an amount of rent is payable by the person, the person is NOT required to actually make payment before Rent Assistance can start.
A person’s circumstances should be reviewed whenever evidence suggests that circumstances may have changed. A change of address and/or change in amount of rent paid should bring about a review of the person’s entitlement to Rent Assistance.
Regardless of whether the rate of Rent Assistance will be affected, the correct rent details should always be recorded and verified to ensure that the most accurate and up-to-date information is stored.
If rent is reduced as a result of changing address, the usual verification procedures apply. If there has been a reduction in the rent paid, without a corresponding change of address, documentation is required.
If a person is reclaiming within a set period, or transferring between payments, and there has been a change in accommodation circumstances (ie. they may now be assessed as sharing their accommodation or the amount of rent paid may have changed), the person will be required to reverify their ongoing liability to pay rent.
About Us
| Careers |
Education |
Higher Education |
Indigenous |
International
New Apprenticeships |
Research |
Schools |
Science |
Training
contact details | publications | search | site map | subscribe
Any comments or queries should be sent to: wwweditor@dest.gov.au
This page was
last updated on
Saturday, 23 April 2005
Department of Education, Science and Training
Copyright © Commonwealth of
Australia
DEST Web Site Privacy Statement
Disclaimer
