Policy
Entitlement
Background
Business Rules
Appealing Decisions or Actions
Policy
The Special Assistance Subsidy - Special is available for people living with HIV/AIDS who rent in the private market. To be eligible, the client must:
The subsidy contributes to their weekly rent.
The amount of rent a client pays is similar to the amount they would pay as a public housing tenant. The client must provide proof of income for members of their household aged 18 years and over. Housing NSW pays the balance of reasonable rent charged.
The client’s SAS entitlement is regularly reviewed by Housing NSW.
For more information on this policy, look in Entitlement, Background and the Business Rules.
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Entitlement
People with HIV/AIDS are entitled to:
- Apply for Special Assistance Subsidy - Special (SAS)
- Access the full range of housing options available to all Housing NSW clients
- Adjust their housing to reflect their changing circumstances
- Assistance which is provided free of harassment and discrimination.
Housing NSW will ensure that applicants are aware of the full range of housing assistance available, through Housing NSW and other housing providers.
Eligible clients may choose to:
- Move into public housing
- Move from public housing into private rental accommodation
- Remain in rental accommodation in the private sector and receive the SAS, or
- Receive the SAS while waiting for public housing.
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Background
Housing NSW aims to offer assistance to HIV/AIDS clients so they have:
- Choice between public, private and community managed housing, and
- Mobility within and between these options.
The Special Assistance Subsidy - Special is designed to assist clients who wish to rent in private sector housing and be close to medical or carer services.
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Business Rules
The Special Assistance Subsidy makes up the difference between the amount the client pays and reasonable market rent for a dwelling comparable to Housing NSW dwellings.
Reasonable market rent means the rent being charged is close to typical market rents for that area. Housing NSW uses the median rent as determined by the Rental Bond Board as a benchmark.
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Eligibility
To receive a Special Assistance Subsidy, clients must:
- Be diagnosed as HIV/AIDS infection positive, as documented by a medical practitioner, and
- Provide evidence from a health or community expert as to how the person’s HIV status impacts on their accommodation and locational needs, including carer and support services needed, and
- Provide evidence as to how SAS or public housing allocation would help resolve that need, and
- Meet Housing NSW criteria for Priority Assistance. See the policy on Priority Assistance (ALL0040A).
- Clients must provide proof of income for all members of the household aged 18 years and over. Proof of income can be:
- Through the Income Confirmation Scheme see Income Confirmation Scheme (EST0200A)
- Income Statement from Centrelink
- Income Statement from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs
- Form B completed by the client’s employer
- Group Certificate
- Profit and loss statement or taxation return for self employed clients
- Letter from an Overseas Government
- Letter from Workcover or Insurance company
- Letter from Finance organisation about investments etc.
Where clients participate in the Income Confirmation Scheme (ICS), Housing NSW will use Centrelink’s assessment of their statutory income. If a client participates in ICS and has income in addition to their Centrelink payment, Housing NSW will ask for proof of this income. This is due to differences between Centrelink and Housing NSW policies for assessing incomes.
If a client does not participate in ICS, Housing NSW will assess their income based on the information provided to Housing NSW.
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Assets
Housing NSW will give special consideration to the needs of clients applying for SAS.
Clients may appear to have assets which could help them meet their housing need. However, these could have been put aside to:
- Meet their medical bills
- Pay carer costs
- Buy special medical equipment, or
- Pay for other essential activities.
If a client has significant assets like superannuation or investments, these will be assessed to see how the client can meet their immediate housing need on their own.
The client must meet the normal income eligibility criteria. The cost of their disability, as documented by health/community experts, will be taken into account when considering income eligibility.
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Bedroom Entitlement
Clients applying for Special Assistance Subsidy have the same bedroom entitlements as other public housing clients. Clients with full-time carers (whether rotational or one person) are entitled to an extra bedroom to accommodate the carer and must provide documentation to substantiate the request.
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Public Housing Tenants Approved for Transfer
Public Housing tenants approved for transfer who meet the eligibility criteria for Special Assistance Subsidy Special (SAS-S) may be eligible to receive a subsidy to live in private rental accommodation while they are waiting for suitable Housing NSW accommodation to become available.
Tenants who meet the eligibility criteria for SAS-S must be approved for SAS before vacating their Housing NSW property and moving into private accommodation.
Tenants approved for SAS-S will pay the amount that they would normally pay as a public housing tenant. They must apply for Commonwealth Rental Assistance and this amount will be included in the assessment of their contribution towards rent. Housing NSW will pay the difference between their contribution and reasonable rent charged. They may also be eligible for Rentstart to help with establishment costs of a private tenancy such as rental bond. See the policy on Rentstart (RES0010A).
Transferring public housing tenants will be provided with SAS subsidy on a short-term basis. If a client refuses two reasonable offers of public or community housing then their SAS-S subsidy will cease. Their name will be removed from the Transfer Register and they will no longer be listed for public housing. For more information on transfer policy. See Transfers (previously Rehousing) (ALL0160A).
Public housing tenants who are on a fixed term lease, before transferring into a SAS tenancy in the private sector, will be offered a new 2, 5 or 10 year fixed term lease based on an assessment of current household circumstances when they accept an offer of alternative public housing.
Public housing tenants who are on a continuous lease before transferring into a SAS tenancy in the private sector, will retain their entitlement to a continuous lease when they return to a public housing property.
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Existing Public Housing Tenants
SAS is available to existing tenants of Housing NSW who meet the eligibility criteria and need to leave Housing NSW accommodation. In some cases, private rental accommodation may be a more practical option than existing public housing.
People moving from public housing to the private market will need to apply for Commonwealth Rental Assistance. They may also be eligible for Rentstart to help with costs such as rental bond. See the policy on Rentstart (RES0010A).
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SAS Clients Moving from Private Rental Accommodation to Public Housing
A client who has been approved for SAS and is seeking an allocation of public housing may apply for Priority Assistance. When approved, they become eligible for Priority Assistance from the date their SAS was first approved.
From October 15, 1999, a client who is approved for Priority Assistance and is receiving SAS can request to be allocated public housing. They become eligible from the date on which their initial Priority Assistance application was approved.
SAS Clients moving into public housing will be offered:
• a 2, 5 or 10 year fixed term lease based on an assessment of their current household circumstances, see the Types and Length of Lease policy (EST0208A).
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Calculating the Subsidy
As long as the rent charged by the landlord is reasonable, the amount of rent the client actually pays is similar to the amount they would pay as a public housing tenant. See the policy on Rental Subsidies (SUB0044A).
The subsidy is calculated using the Special Assistance Subsidies (SAS) module of the Integrated Housing System (IHS). The calculation is based on the information received from the client.
From 5 June 2006, the rate of assessment increased from 20 to 25% (not including Commonwealth Rent Assistance). All clients who commence a SAS tenancy on, or after, 5 June 2006 will contribute 25% of their income towards the rent.
For current SAS clients, the increase will take effect from when their next subsidy review is conducted on, or after, 5 June 2006.
Clients who receive the Special Assistance Subsidy are entitled to receive Commonwealth Rent Assistance as they are not public housing tenants and are renting in the private sector. When assessing the household income it will be presumed that a client is in receipt of Commonwealth Rental Assistance even if they have not applied to Centrelink for this income.
Commonwealth Rent Assistance is intended to contribute towards rent. When calculating the subsidy provided to new clients and existing clients tenants relocating to a new address, we will assess 100% of all the Commonwealth Rent Assistance as being contributed towards rent.
Before August 24, 1998 clients contributed only 20% of their Commonwealth Rent Assistance in rent. These clients continue to contribute 20% of their Commonwealth Rent Assistance in rent while they stay at the same address. If they are required to relocate because the tenancy is terminated by the landlord for a reason other than a breach of the Tenancy Agreement (for example, property sale or redevelopment), they will continue to contribute only 20% of their Commonwealth Rent Assistance in rent for a new tenancy.
For existing clients, 20% of rent assistance is assessed. If they are required to move as a result of breach of the tenancy it is assessed at 100%.
A carer’s income is included in the calculations if they are living with the client. It is excluded if they are not.
In some cases, where a client is paying more than the benchmark rent Housing NSW may approve payment of the subsidy based on this market rent provided that:
- This rent reflects the current market rent, and
- The accommodation meets the needs of the client.
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Reviewing the Subsidy
Tenants do not need to reapply for SAS-S each year. However, we will, regularly review the income details of SAS clients receiving a subsidy and their entitlement to receive it. This is called a scheduled SAS Review.
When we are informed about any changes to the SAS client's household or household income, we will re-assess the subsidy to ensure that the household is paying the correct amount of rent. This is called an Individual SAS Review.
SAS clients must tell us within 28 days about any changes to their household, or of any changes to the gross income of any member of the household. If they do not inform us about any changes to their household or household income, the household may be charged the wrong amount of rent. In some cases this may result in money owing to Housing NSW.
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Paying the SAS
The subsidy will be paid from:
- The date on which the client’s application was approved; or
- From the date the lease begins, which ever is the later.
Payment is generally made one month in advance.
Change in Circumstances
The SAS client must let Housing NSW know of any changes in:
- Household income
- Rent
- Address
- Need of carer.
The client should advise us if they are considering relocating. This may affect the assessment of their subsidy level.
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Appealing Decisions or Actions
If a client disagrees with a decision Housing NSW has made, they should first discuss their concerns with a Client Service Officer. The next step if they still believe we made the wrong decision is to ask for a formal review of the decision. For information on how reviews work, the client can ask the Client Service Officer for a copy of the fact sheet Reviewing Decisions (PDF file, 397 KB) or read the policy on Appeals and Review of Decisions (EST0015A).
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