Your Rent - Lodging

What is lodging?

Accordwest provides single people with accommodation in our lodging houses. Residents have their own secure, furnished room but share communal facilities like bathrooms and kitchens.

What is the difference between lodging accommodation and mainstream accommodation?

Lodging accommodation is a single room only. The kitchen, bathroom and laundry are shared. Lodging residents sign a Licence to Occupy under common law provisions. Mainstream accommodation is a self-contained property. Residents sign a Tenancy Agreement under the Residential Tenancies Act 1987.

How much will I pay?

Rent is assessed according to your income and size of room, and includes a charge for utilities such as water, electricity and gas. These utilities are added onto the rent to make up the total cost of a room.

We provide subsidised rooms for people on low incomes. The amount of rent we charge each resident varies, however our residents will never be charged more than 75% of the market rent for their room. Contact us for more information.

Moving out

Under the Licence to Occupy, you must give three days’ notice in writing.

Helpful Information

Here are some helpful hints and some information if you live in Accordwest’s Lodgings. Here you’ll find how to pay your rent, and how you can manage any rent issues that might arise.

Rent Payment Options

Centrepay Deductions
This is the easiest and most popular method for rent payments. It is a free service for customers to pay bills via regular deductions from their Centrelink payments (please contact Centrelink or AccordWest for more details) .

Electronic Funds Transfer

BSB: 086-554
Account Number: 97-152-0359
Name: Agencies for Southwest Accommodation Inc

Reference: Your Surname
* Please make sure you include your name in the Electronic Funds Transfer when you pay your rent so we know who the payment is from.

EFTPOS
Eftpos facilities are not available at this time. Credit Cards are not accepted.

Cash

Cash can only be accepted at the Bunbury office.

Online Banking & Electronic Funds Transfers

Banking online or from your mobile phone is a convenient way to access your bank account and pay your rent to us. You can make a single payment each time your rent is due or set up an automatic deduction that occurs every fortnight.

Please be aware, if you do not have enough funds in your account to pay your rent the bank may charge you for dishonouring the payment. The ASIC Moneysmart site has more information on online banking here.

If you would like to know how to set up electronic banking and transfer funds, please contact your bank.

Rent Schedule

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. This means we will:

Provide direct support and guidance (e.g. drug and alcohol programs, financial counselling, parenting programs etc.) to help to:
- Prevent the debt occurring;
- Identify and deal with the issues that created the debt; and
- Assist in reducing the debt.
Facilitate access to other support services as needed. (e.g. Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, disability support organisations, mental health services etc.)
Negotiate a payment plan.
Take action that is appropriate to the level of arrears and the requirements of the License to Occupy.

Under your License to Occupy, 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 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 to reduce 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 here.

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 of rent from your next payment.

You can use the forms below to advise us of changes to your household income.

Household Declaration Form
Multiple Consent Authority

Rent Amounts

The rent we charge our tenants depends on a variety of factors, including the type of accommodation and the income of everyone who lives in the property. The rental amount is discussed when you are made an offer of housing and is confirmed before you sign a tenancy agreement.

You will be asked to provide details about your income when you go on the wait list. When we offer you accommodation, we will ask you for more information about your income and ask you to complete a Household Declaration Form.

There is more information on how rents are set on our Information Sheet.

Rent Review

We will review the amount of rent a tenant pays every 6-12 months. During this process you will be asked to provide details of your income. If you would prefer, 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.

You can read more about the process for reviewing your rent on our Information Sheet.

Commonwealth Rent Assistance

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 us so we can adjust your rent.