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Rental Rebates Manual
Fixed Rent
August 2012

Rental Rebates Manual

Chapter 6

Fixed Rent

August2012

Published by the Victorian Government,Department of Human Services, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

CopyrightState of Victoria, Department of Human Services, 2012.

This publication is copyright. You may make limited copies of this document in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), including copies for research, study, criticism, review or news reporting. Apart from this, you may not publish, reproduce, adapt, modify, communicate or otherwise use any part of this document (in particular for commercial purposes).

Authorised by the State Government of Victoria, 50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.

6.1Definitions

6.2Fixed Rent Policy

6.2.1Fixed Rent

6.2.2Changes in household circumstances

6.2.3Special conditions

Note:Appendices have been highlighted and linked throughout the Chapter in blue italic text.

6.1Definitions

FREDFixed Rent Effective Date

AFRRAutomatic Fixed Rent Review

6.2Fixed Rent Policy

6.2.1Fixed Rent

Household rents are set twice a year, and are typically fixed for a period of up to 26 weeks at a time. The start of each new fixed rent period is termed the Fixed Rent Effective Date (FRED).

The aim of fixed rents is to assist households with housing affordability and to provide certainty about the rent they will be charged. When household income increases during a fixed rent period, this additional income is taken into account for the next fixed rent period. However, if household income decreases, an earlier review can be undertaken. The same fixed rent periods apply for all tenants in public housing.

Prior to the completion of each fixed rent period, the Department selects a date to capture current household income information which is used to assess the rent chargeable for the next fixed rent period. This process is called the Automatic Fixed Rent Review (AFRR).

Typically, this date will be around eight weeks prior to the commencement of a new fixed rent period, in the case of an AFRR involving a market rent review.

A lesser period for other fixed rent reviews such as an AFRR which does not involve a market rent review, there will always be at least 21 days notice of the increase of the new fixed rent to the tenant.

At the date that the rent for the next fixed rent period is determined, if a household has not responded to a request for updated household details by that date (for example, a contact review), the Department is unable to determine eligibility for a rental rebate for the next fixed rent period and the rent for that fixed rent period will reflect the capped market rent.

Should a household subsequently provide the information required to determine eligibility the rent chargeable will be reassessed in accordance with the fixed rent policy.There is no limit to the back-dating of an effective date for a change or a rent assessment.

6.2.2Changes in household circumstances

If a change in total household income occurs after the rent for the next fixed rent period has been determined, and a reassessment of rent would result in a higher rent charge, the household income is stored to be used in calculating the rent for the following fixed rent period.

If a change in total household income occurs after the rent for the next fixed rent period has been determined, which would result in a decrease in the total household income, the rent to be charged is reassessed with effect from the Sunday prior to the change in household circumstances.

Where the tenant fails to disclose information during the fixed rent period in which the change occurred, income and household changes are recorded based on the date the change occurred and the rent chargeable will be reassessed in accordance with the fixed rent policy.There is no limit to the back-dating of these rent assessments.

The ‘Next’ FRED is immediately following the change.

The ‘Following’ FRED is the second FRED date after the change.

Income documentation may be requested to demonstrate household income a certain points in time, including the date a change occurred, as well as the date household income information is captured for the AFRR.

6.2.3Special conditions[1]

  • Temporary Absence: A tenant or resident is temporarily absent from their property due to special circumstances, for example, they are in a geriatric nursing home, rehabilitation or respite care, or in jail. The rent will increase from the Sunday following their return to the property.
  • Administrative error: When an administration error in a previous rebate assessment has been discovered and resulted in charging a lower amount of rent, the rebate is reassessed as normal, with the increase in rent payable beingeffective from the FRED following the change. A subsidy is then applied to reduce the rent for the period of time from the FRED following the actual change in income and the Sunday following the discovery of the error.
  • Work is resumed after a temporary break from an ongoing contract: When the tenant and/or resident resumes work after a temporary break from an ongoing contract, the increase in rent is applied from the Sunday after they recommence working.

See Chapter 5 for further information about subsidies.

If an error is discovered and there is no current rebate assessment pending, a letter is issued to the tenant requesting current income information.

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Rental Rebates Manual
Fixed Rent
August 2012

[1]If the change is prior to the introduction of the Fixed rent policy (25 May 2008); an increase in rent is applied from the Sunday following the change in circumstances.