Earlier changes

What's new

2 March 2026

Income from boarders, renters and additional occupants

From 2 March 2026 the treatment of payments that clients receive from boarders (when it is not received through a business venture), renters and additional occupants, and how to assess their accommodation costs have changed.

Weekly qualifying accommodation costs

When a client gets rent, board or additional occupant contribution payments from someone living in the same premises it is treated as accommodation income in the calculation of their weekly qualifying accommodation costs when assessing Accommodation Supplement, Temporary Additional Support and Special Benefit. For more information see:

Chargeable income

When accommodation income is more than the client's accommodation costs (after the deduction of the cost of any part of the property not being lived in by the client), the excess amount is income and must be charged against income tested assistance that uses the definition of income in the Social Security Act 2018. This includes but is not limited to main benefits and supplementary assistance. For more information see:

Income Related Rent

Contributions that a client gets from additional occupants are not included as assessable income. When calculating Income Related Rent, 62% of the total contributions a client gets are added to the calculated rent amount. For more information see:

Assessment of eligibility - Affordability

When calculating a client's affordability risk rating, the accommodation income a client gets from additional occupants is deducted from the lower quartile rent amount and used in the calculation of accommodation supplement in the assessment. The accommodation income used includes current amounts received from those who are or will be additional occupants. For more information see:

Mismatch of information

When a client lives in the same premises as another client and declares they pay rent, board or additional occupant contributions to another client, or get rent, board or additional occupant contributions from them, MSD will check the details match if:

  • they both get Accommodation Supplement, Temporary Additional Support, and/or Special Benefit, or
  • a social housing tenant who pays Income Related Rent gets contributions from a client who lives with them and that client gets Accommodation Supplement, Temporary Additional Support, and/or Special Benefit

Where there is a mismatch of information, the mismatch process must be followed.


For more information see:

Residency

The residency requirements have been updated to remove out-of-date information from the following:

Mandatory Reviews

The following changes are effective from 2 March 2026:

  • Mandatory Reviews are replacing the Review of Circumstances and Annual Circumstances Letter processes (for most clients getting an Annual Circumstances Letter)
  • a client will have a Mandatory Review at least once in a 52-week period
  • clients getting the following benefits will have a Mandatory Review:
  • the introduction of specific engagements. This is when a client has an interaction with MSD that can meet the same purpose as the Mandatory Review.
  • the introduction of extensions, exemptions and exceptions - situations where a client can get more time to respond to their review, or when clients won't be required to respond to a Mandatory Review
  • suspending and cancelling a client's benefit if they don't respond to the Mandatory Review before the review date

Housing Support Products - Bond Grant and Accommodation Security Cover Grant

Changes have been made to Bond Grant and Accommodation Security Cover Grant in Housing Support Products, effective from 2 March 2026.

Bond Grant

Clients can now get a Bond Grant when they are an existing tenant and are required to pay an extra bond when they have an increase in rent and meet the qualifications. See:

Accommodation Security Cover Grant

An Accommodation Security Cover Grant can now be paid for costs that the Tenancy Tribunal has determined that a client is required to pay. See:

Legislation

The following ministerial directions have been updated, effective from 2 March 2026:

These are also available in a hard-copy (PDF) format. See ministerial directions.

The following welfare programmes have been updated, effective from 2 March 2026:

These are also available in a hard-copy (PDF) format. See welfare programmes.

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Accommodation income is rent, board or additional occupant contribution payments a client gets from someone living in the same premises.

Accommodation income is deducted from a client's accommodation costs when calculating a client's weekly qualifying accommodation cost.

Accommodation income includes:

  • rent a client gets from another person (not being additional occupants or boarders) residing in the same premises, except where the person paying the rent is in a self-contained part of the premises ...