Housing providers

Board and lodging are when someone pays for accommodation in either your home or other shared accommodation, that also includes meals.

Lodging is when you rent out a room in either your private home or other shared accommodation, that doesn’t include meals.

If someone is paying you board or lodging, they may need to give us proof of their accommodation details to get Rent Assistance. You can help them by giving them a formal written tenancy agreement or signing a Rent Certificate.

If you’re a business like a hospice, nursing home, retirement home or lifestyle village, people in your facility may be eligible for Rent Assistance.

You may need to provide proof of their accommodation details to get it. You can help by giving them any of the following:

• a formal written tenancy agreement
• an invoice
• signing a Rent Certificate.

If you manage or own community or disability housing, there are things you might need to do for your tenant to get Rent Assistance.

If the tenant’s rent amount and accommodation details change, you can update the rent amount within the timeframe, but the tenant needs to update their accommodation details with us.

How to update

If you’re approved to use our Electronic Verification of Rent (EVoR) service, you can update a rent amount on behalf of your tenant. If you use EVoR, you must make the rent update between 15 and 50 days before the rent changes.

You need consent from your tenant before you can make a rent update in EVoR. Consent is voluntary and tenants can decline or withdraw it at any time. You can’t use EVoR to update a rent amount if your tenant isn’t already getting Rent Assistance.

If you don’t use EVoR your tenant will need to update their rent amount with us themselves. They’ll also need to tell us about other accommodation details if they change.

You can find out more about our Electronic Verification of Rent (EVoR) online service.

If your child or ward is younger than 25 and you rent to them privately, they may be eligible for Rent Assistance.

We consider them to be renting from you privately if they live in an investment property or fully self-contained area you own. A fully self-contained area can be a granny flat or caravan. It can be on the same block of land you live on. It does not include living in the same house as you.

To get Rent Assistance we may ask your child or ward for proof of their accommodation details. You can provide either:

• a formal written tenancy agreement
• signed Rent Certificate.

If you own or manage a rental property, your tenants may be getting Rent Assistance.

To get Rent Assistance we may need a proof of accommodation details, including the rent amount. You can help your tenant by giving them a formal written tenancy agreement or signing a Rent Certificate.

If your tenant has a Centrepay deduction set up to pay you rent and the rent amount changes, your tenant must update both of the following:

• accommodation details with Centrelink
• Centrepay deduction.