Your rent is due each fortnight and must be paid two weeks in advance. If you are experiencing difficulties paying your rent, please contact a Housing Choices WA Debt Recovery Officer as soon as possible on 9534 0425 or email tenantpayments-wa@hcau.org.au. Your tenancy may be at risk if you fail to take prompt action.
Your household income and assets will determine the rent you pay.
As of Monday 17 February 2020, we will calculate your rent based on the net assessable income and assets of your household.
Once a year we will ask you to complete and return an Eligibility and Rent Review form to ensure that you are still eligible for community housing and are paying the correct rent. On this form you must provide details of who is living in the property and also provide proof of income for everyone over 16 years of age. You may also need to provide us with information regarding your assets.
Generally, the proof of income you need to provide for everyone in the household (over 16 years) is:
You must also include any other income sources you have such as interest on savings, maintenance, overseas pension etc. The evidence we need for these is detailed on the Eligibility and Rent Review form. If you have difficulty obtaining proof of household income, please contact the Rent Review Officer who sent you the review letter or email rentreview-wa@hcau.org.au.
Please note that Centrelink do not automatically notify us of any changes to your Centrelink payment, so we will always need you to provide your current Income Statement. We are approved by Centrelink to offer their customers the Centrelink Confirmation eServices (CCeS) – Income Confirmation service. If you choose to use this free, confidential service you can authorise Centrelink to provide your income details directly to us. This means that we can carry out your eligibility and rent review without you having to obtain an Income Statement from Centrelink yourself.
Some housing programs we manage require you to provide additional information, such as 12 months proof of income. If you need to do this, we will advise you of what proof you must provide in your rent review letter.
You will need to sign and return the Eligibility and Rent Review form and proof of household income by the date printed on the form. If you don’t do this, we will not be able to confirm that you are still eligible for community housing or calculate your rent according to your household income. If this happens, your rent may increase to Market Rent. In this case, you will need to find alternative housing. It is very important that you return the form promptly. If you are experiencing difficulties with the form, providing proof of income or the timeframe, please contact the Rent Review Officer on the letter or email rentreview-wa@hcau.org.au as soon as possible.
If we need to ask you for more information, we will automatically extend the return date.
In addition to the annual review, we will also re-assess your eligibility and rent if your household income increases or decreases or someone moves in or out of your home. You must notify us within 14 days of any occupancy or change in income.
We will always notify you in writing of your new rent. Your letter will:
Please contact the Rent Review Officer who sent you your advice letter or email rentreview-wa@hcau.org.au if you think your new rent is incorrect.
If you are a Centrelink customer, you can use the Electronic Verification of Rent (EVoR) to give us authorisation to let Centrelink know if your rent has changed, so you don’t have to complete a rent certificate and you will automatically receive the correct amount of rent assistance. This service is free, and you can withdraw your authorisation at any time.
Your rent is calculated according to your household income and can increase, decrease, vary or remain the same.
You can pay your rent by BPAY, internet banking or by making an EFTPOS payment at any Housing Choices WA office.
If you are a Centrelink customer, you can set up Centrepay Deductions, so your rent is paid directly to us each fortnight. You can also give permission for us to change your Centrepay deduction if your rent changes. We will always tell you if we have made any change to your deduction.
Centrepay deduction is a free service and you can cancel your authorisation at any time but please remember if you do so, you must make alternative arrangements to pay your rent.
Click here to view Housing Choices WA’s Rent Setting Policy.
Click here to view our Co-resident Carer Rent Policy Info Sheet.