Policy
Policy Detail
Assessment Criteria
Tenant Statements and former tenant's eligibility for public housing
Evidence Requirements
Appealing Decisions or Actions
Policy Statement
Following a request by a tenant or a former tenant, the Department of Housing provides statements of satisfactory tenancy to assist tenants and former tenants to secure private rental accommodation where those tenants are leaving or have left public housing. This assists tenants and former tenants who have complied with their tenancy agreement.
Joint tenants can apply for tenant statements but household members other than the tenant can not.
Application to Aboriginal Housing Office Clients
This policy also applies to clients of the Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO) who request a statement of satisfactory tenancy relating to AHO properties managed by the Department of Housing.
Policy Detail
Tenants and former tenants can ask the Department to provide a tenancy statement relating to their current or their immediate former tenancy. This can be done by completing the form Application for a Statement of Satisfactory Tenancy (which is attached to the fact sheet) and faxing it to the Department of Housing on 9612 6393 or posting it to, Locked Bag 7150 Liverpool BC 1871. Current tenants can only apply for a tenancy statement if they intend to move into private rental accommodation within 6 weeks of the date of their application.
Statements of Satisfactory Tenancy are standard documents and indicate whether a tenant has maintained their tenancy satisfactorily in relation to payment of their rent and other charges, the care of their property and other tenancy aspects. As such and following assessment, tenant statements will only be provided:
- if apart from minor matters, a current tenant has not breached their tenancy in the twelve months prior to the Department receiving their application for a tenancy statement
- if apart from minor matters, a former tenant has not breached their tenancy
and
- where all the Department’s accounts for the tenant are at $nil balance or in credit and, in respect of those accounts, the tenant has had a satisfactory payment performance in the twelve months prior to the assessment for their tenancy statement. The Department’s accounts include any former tenancies linked to the current tenancy or the immediate former tenancy.
Minor matters are actions which might be technical breaches of the tenancy agreement, such as adding a small fixture to a property without the Department’s permission, but which do not justify classifying a tenant as ineligible for a statement of satisfactory tenancy.
A twelve month period is used to assess payment performance on rental and other accounts. The Department considers the twelve months as a whole and assesses whether the tenant made reasonable efforts to keep up to date with their payments and to repay any arrears in accordance with arrangements made with the Department.
After the Department receives a request for a tenant statement, it will assess the tenant’s eligibility for that statement. Tenants will often need to receive their tenant statements quickly if they are to have the opportunity of securing their new property. Accordingly, the Department is committed to providing tenant statements, or a letter declining to provide such a Statement, within 10 working days of receiving an application for a statement.
To allow the Department to achieve this, it may be necessary to inspect current tenants’ properties in shorter time frames than usual. The Department will seek current tenants’ consent for inspections to be undertaken, where possible, within 4 days of receipt of a tenant’s application for a tenant statement.
Tenancy statements can only be provided directly to a tenant. If a request is received from a third party, such as a property owner or real estate agent, the Department will not provide a reference or statement (verbal or written). Similarly, the Department will not expand on or clarify the contents of its written statement.
However, the Department can verify that a statement has been issued to a particular tenant – a property owner or agent can ring the Department on 1800 629 212 to get such a verification. It is important that tenants keep their original statement and provide copies only to prospective landlords and agents.
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Assessment Criteria
A tenancy statement will not be provided where your former or current tenancy has been categorised as ineligible for a tenancy statement. In this situation you will receive a letter explaining this assessment. However, current tenants may become eligible for a tenant statement in the future if:
- apart from minor matters, they have no breaches of their tenancy agreement for the twelve months prior to when the Department receives their next application for a tenancy statement
and
- all of their tenant accounts (including linked former tenancies) are in $nil or credit balance when the Department next assesses the tenant’s eligibility for a tenancy statement and, in respect of those accounts, the tenant has a satisfactory payment performance in the twelve months prior to the Department’s assessment.
Former tenants will become eligible for a tenant statement in the future if:
- all of their tenant charge accounts (including linked former tenancies) are in $nil or credit balance when the Department next assesses their eligibility for a tenant statement and, in respect of those accounts, the tenant has a satisfactory payment performance in the twelve months prior to the Department’s assessment
and
- apart from minor matters, they had not breached their tenancy agreement.
The Department is not in a position to gauge whether former tenants, who had breached their public housing tenancy agreement, have rectified their behaviour giving rise to that breach or those breaches. The tenant has left Departmental premises. Therefore former tenants, who are ineligible for a tenant statement on the grounds of such breaches, will remain ineligible. But should they sustain a tenancy in the private sector, then they may be able to get a tenant reference from the property manager or property owner in that sector.
Tenant statements and former tenants’ eligibility for public housing
When a tenancy ends, the Department assesses the rental and tenancy history of the tenant and household members and categorises the tenancy.
That process affects a former tenant’s eligibility to apply for public housing in the future. A former tenant’s eligibility for a tenant statement will be part of that categorisation process so that there are five categories that a former tenant may fall into:
- Eligible for a statement of satisfactory tenancy
- Satisfactory
- Less than satisfactory
- Unsatisfactory
- Ineligible.
For more information on classification of former tenancies, see the policy Housing Former Tenants (ALL0031A).
Evidence Requirements
In making its assessment, the Department considers the material held on its tenancy management systems and tenant files in relation to the tenancy history of a tenant, including the history of other occupants in that tenancy, over the twelve months prior to a current tenant’s application for a tenant statement.
For a former tenant, this assessment is applied to the duration of their tenancy. In relation to rental and other payments, the Department considers the payment history for the twelve months prior to its assessment of a tenant’s eligibility for a tenancy statement.
Appealing Decisions or Actions
If a tenant or former tenant disagrees with a decision the Department has made, they should first discuss their concerns with a Client Service Officer. The next step if they still believe the Department made the wrong decision is to ask for a formal review of the decision.
For information on how reviews work, ask the Client Service Officer for a copy of the fact sheet Reviewing Decisions and refer to Appeals and Review of Decisions (EST0015A).
Legislative Requirements
Housing Act 1986
Residential Tenancies Act 1987