On Wednesday 26 June 2013, The Hon. Pru Goward MP, Minister for Family and Community Services, announced a new incentive to help free up larger public housing properties for people who need them the most. As announced, this policy only applies to public housing tenancies and does not apply to community housing.
This NSW Government initiative aims to fill vacant bedrooms to free up public housing for those who need it most by:
– Giving priority to transferring tenants who are not using all bedrooms, so they can move into a more suitably sized home more quickly.
– Placing a new vacant bedroom charge on public housing tenants if they choose to continue to live in a property with a number of vacant bedrooms. The charge is $20 per week for single tenants and $30 per week for couples.
In order to achieve this; tenants who agree to relocate when they are approached by Housing NSW and tenants who offer to move to a smaller home, will be given priority status on the transfer list.
At this stage it means there is no change for Community Housing Tenants, as the Community Housing Rent Policy does not currently allow providers to charge additional rent for a spare or unoccupied bedroom. However, the NSW Government have advised that the Community Housing sector will be consulted as part of consideration of implementation of a vacant bedroom charge in community housing.
