Rent Information Sheet
How we set our rents
At the commencement of a tenancy, an assessment of the tenant’s household income and financial circumstances will be undertaken to determine; (a) The tenant’s eligibility for a discounted rent; and (b) The level of rent to be charged to the tenant. All social housing rents are assessed at no more that 25% of your income and affordable housing maybe charged at 30% of all income. This will include any part time and casual employment earnings.
Alliance Housing will then determine the tenant’s rent consistent with its Rent Assessment Policy Document using a suitable rent calculator. Tenants will be charged rent based on the lower of the discounted rent (based on a proportion of their income); or a property-based rent being full market rent or 74.9% of market rent.
Ways to pay rent
Alliance Housing offers several different ways to pay rent. The most common is Centrepay where the rent is directly deducted from your Centrelink payments. Rent can be paid in the following ways:
Centrepay Deductions
Centrepay is available for tenants who receive their payments from Centrelink. To pay through Centrepay, the Tenancy Officer will supply you with a form to sign which will allow them to set up payment through Centrepay on your behalf. The Tenancy Officer will also supply you a Centrelink deduction and confirmation services form to sign, which can allow the Tenancy Officer to check your eligibility, download income statements or make future changes on your behalf with Centrepay, however, it is still your responsibility to ensure that your rent is correct and paid on time.
Online Banking/Electronic Funds Transfer
Banking online or from your mobile phone to either set up a periodic funds transfer (direct debit) or you can set it up with your bank at the branch. Please ensure that you utilise the following details to ensure we can assess who the rent payment is from.
BSB: 036-122
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 373192
ACCOUNT NAME: Alliance Housing (WA)
REFERENCE: Bank ID number or Your Name
You may use these details to pay any invoices raised that may arise at the property however please identify that the payment is made for the water invoice, as we are required to receipt all monies received to rent unless specified otherwise. Please be aware that if you do not have enough funds in your account to pay the rent, you may be charged by the bank for dishonouring the payment.
Rent Schedule
Rent payments to Alliance Housing are due every 14 days. Your first payment will be charged on the day you sign your rental agreement so you will always be paying for the next 14 days in advance.
Changes to income
It is very important that you let us know if there is a change to the number of people living in your home or a change to your household’s total income. These changes can affect the amount of rent you are charged. If your income has decreased, you may be entitled to a reduction in your rent from your next payment.You can use the Household Declaration form to advise us of changes to your household income.
Reviewing your rent
All of our tenants can expect to have the amount of rent they pay reviewed every 6-12 months. In this process you will be asked to provide details of your income. To make this easier you can choose to sign an Authorisation Form which allows us to liaise directly with Centrelink about your income and any rental assistance payment you may receive.
Commonwealth rent assistance (CRA)
Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible for Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) which you can claim through Centrelink. Centrelink needs to know the amount of rent you pay to work out your CRA entitlement, so if your rent amount changes you should let Centrelink know. If you don’t receive the amount of CRA that has been estimated in your rental assessment, and Centrelink have the right information about the rent you pay, you need to inform your Tenancy Officer as we may be able to adjust your rent.
Rent Debt or Arrears
Falling behind in your rent payments (rent arrears) makes it difficult for you to get ahead financially. You will need to pay back the debt owed, plus keep paying your daily living expenses. We commit to working with you to minimise unpaid debt and to sustain your tenancy.
Our Non-Compliance and Arrears Policy aims to ensure:
• We proactively manage tenant non-compliance and arrears to maximise the opportunity to sustain the tenancy;
• We provide tenants with advice, information, referrals and/or support to help them manage their tenancy obligations and responsibilities;
• We provide opportunities for tenants to pay any arrears and address tenancy non-compliance;
• We proactively address tenancy issues to minimise impacts on tenants and surrounding communities;
• We manage any legal action consistent with the requirements of the Residential Tenancies Act.
Under your Lease Agreement, you have a legal responsibility to pay your rent every fortnight (two weeks in advance). If you cannot pay your rent, please contact us immediately. We want to be able to lend support and refer to services that can provide financial advice before the debt becomes unmanageable. If you cannot pay off the debt in a single payment, we will arrange a repayment plan tor educe the arrears. We will only take legal action when all our other attempts to recover the arrears have failed. You can read our full policy on Rent Arrears in our Non-Compliance and Arrears policy.
