Being Away from Home

If you are going to be away for more than 4 weeks, please speak with your Housing Coordinator who can provide more information about arrangements for extended periods of absence.

Are you going away?

If you are going to be away for more than 4 weeks, please speak with your Housing Coordinator who can provide more information about arrangements for extended periods of absence. Some of the reasons you may go away include:

• you or someone in your family is sick, in hospital, in respite or in rehab
• you have to look after someone in your family
• you have to travel because someone died
• you have to travel because of a family crisis
• you are studying somewhere away from your home
• you are going on a holiday
• you need to escape from family violence or other problems where you are at risk.

Sometimes, these reasons can take more than four weeks to sort out. In this case, you need to contact us and let us know.

Short Trips

If you are going away, please make sure your rent is still paid on time and that you have an appointed person that you trust who can regularly check on the property and empty the mailbox. It might also be helpful to ask this appointed person to keep an eye on the home while you’re away.

Can I sublet my home?

Sub-letting is when you rent the house to another person. You cannot sub-let your home. Having someone live in your home while you are away for a short period of time, is not the same as sub-letting. This person can live in the home while you’re not there, as long as you let Foundation Housing know about it.

Macie’s Story

One day last year, Macie received a distressing phone call. Her Mum, who lives in Darwin, had a stroke. Macie rushed to Darwin to look after her Mum. She forgot to tell Foundation Housing that she was going to be away. Macie’s Mum needed a lot of care. In the end, it took nearly five months to find a good nursing home for her to live in.

During this time, Foundation Housing tried to contact Macie many times. We phoned her and we sent letters. However, we never got a response.

When Macie returned, she was shocked to find out that she couldn’t live in her home anymore. We thought she’d abandoned the home, and we gave it to someone else who was on the waiting list.

If Macie had phoned or emailed us while she was away, she wouldn’t have lost her home. Macie could also have asked Foundation Housing for support at any time while she was away.