If you pay a homeowner or leaseholder for a room in their property, you may be eligible for Rent Assistance under the board and lodging rent type.
Board and lodging is when you pay for a room in either a private home or other shared accommodation, which includes meals.
Lodging is when you pay for a room in either a private home or other shared accommodation, which doesn’t include meals. You usually share common areas such as a kitchen, bathroom or laundry and provide and pay for your own meals.
Rent Assistance is payable to eligible customers. Find out about who can get it.
This information was printed 26 July 2026 from https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/board-and-lodging-rent-type-for-rent-assistance. It may not include all of the relevant information on this topic. Please consider any relevant site notices at https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/site-notices when using this material.