Your Rent

Centrepay Deductions

A free service for customers to pay bills as regular deductions from their Centrelink payments. Please contact Centrelink or Foundation Housing for more details.

Electronic Funds Transfer

Payment can be made online via your online banking website.

BSB: 086 006
Account Number: 84 376 7322
Account Name: Foundation Housing Ltd
Reference:  Your PayBook ID

EFTPOS

Eftpos is available for debit cards. Credit Cards are not accepted.

Please make sure you include this information in your Electronic Funds Transfer when you pay your rent so we know who the payment is from:

• Your Paybook ID number / resident’s first name / resident’s surname

Remember to keep your receipt as proof of payment.

Rent payments to Foundation Housing are due every 14 days. Your first payment will be charged on the day you sign your rental agreement so you will always be paying for the next 14 days in advance.

Falling behind in your rent payments – known as arrears – affects us and you. It’s in everybody’s best interests to minimise unpaid debt and sustain your tenancy.
We respond to arrears in an open, honest and sensitive way. Our approach includes:
• preventative measures to avoid arrears in the first place
• identifying problems with tenancy arrangements and responding to them as early as possible
• giving residents support and guidance to help them reduce their arrears
• taking action that is appropriate to the level of arrears and the requirements of your Licence to Occupy.

Under your Licence to Occupy, you have a legal responsibility to pay your rent and utility charges every fortnight (two weeks in advance).
Please tell us about any circumstances that may affect your ability to pay your rent or utility charges.
We will always communicate immediately with a resident whose payments have fallen into arrears so that, wherever possible, we can lend support and financial advice before the debt becomes unmanageable. If a resident 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.

It is very important that you let us know if there is a change to your income. These changes can affect the amount of rent you are charged. If your income has decreased, you may be entitled to a reduction in your rent from your next payment.
You can use the Household Declaration Form to advise us of changes to your household income.

The amount of rent we charge you depends on your net income (your income after you have paid tax) and the type of room you live in.

A charge for utilities is added to the rent to make up the total cost of a room. Our lodging room utilities (gas, water, electricity) are not individually metered however we determine the daily cost of each room using the average cost of the building utilities over 12 months.

The total amount is discussed when you are made an offer of accommodation and confirmed before you sign a Licence to Occupy.

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

All of our residents can expect to have the amount of rent they pay reviewed every 6-12 months. In this process you will be asked to provide details of your income. To make this easier 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.

We also review the utilities charge every 12 months and give you 14 days’ notice of any change. The charge is set each year, based on your use of utilities at the property over the previous 12 months.

You can read more about the process of reviewing your rent on this Information Sheet.

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 your Lodging Coordinator as we may be able to adjust your rent accordingly.