NT Government announces new rent framework to strengthen remote housing sector
/1 February 2023
The Northern Territory Government has announced in a media release this week that it will be rolling out a ‘Remote Rent Framework’, with the aim of providing financial sustainability to “complement the Territory Labor Government’s $2.1 billion remote housing program that includes the construction and upgrade of homes across the NT as well as civil infrastructure.”
The transition to the new rent model will take place for tenants in remote areas (including community living areas in Tennant Creek) on 6 February.
The NT Government’s media release reports on the issue as follows:
New rent framework to strengthen remote housing sector
A Remote Rent Framework, which rolls out in a week, provides the financial sustainability to complement the Territory Labor Government’s $2.1 billion remote housing program that includes the construction and upgrade of homes across the NT as well as civil infrastructure.
The new framework will streamline the management of tenancies and enable funds to be channelled into repairs, maintenance, and upgrades. It readies the remote housing sector for management by Aboriginal-controlled community housing.
The model is fair, consistent and affordable, and includes a safety net that means tenants will not pay more than 25 per cent of their household income in rent. It replaces an out-of-date system that changed from year to year and was challenging to administer.
The new remote rent framework is a simplified way of paying rent. It applies to tenants in remote communities, Alice Springs town camps, and Tennant Creek community living areas.
Tenants in remote areas, including community living areas in Tennant Creek, transition to the new rent model on 6 February.
Principles of the Remote Rent Framework were developed by the Territory Labor Government in conjunction with the Remote Rent Stakeholder Advisory Group, which included local peak bodies, Aboriginal housing providers, and legal advocates.
As part of the restructure, legacy rental debts up to 11 December 2021 have been waived.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Housing and Homelands Selena Uibo:
“The new Remote Rent Framework provides clarity on rent payable to avoid debt and ensures a robust public housing system for the future.
“It provides a standard means for setting rent, reduces the red tape burden and supports sustainable rent collection in remote communities to help fund the cost of improving remote housing in the long term.
“While some tenants will be paying increased rent, this is in line with CPI increases and is the first rental increase in more than a decade. Remote rental levels remain well below urban ones. We are sensitive to the fact that rent will increase for some households in remote public housing, but the framework’s safety net ensures households will not pay more than 25 per cent of their income on rent.”
“The Territory Government knows that safe, secure housing is the cornerstone of better futures for people in our remote communities and that is why we are taking a long-term approach."
