Accommodation Supplement

You may get an Accommodation Supplement if you:

• have accommodation costs
• are aged 16 years or more
• are a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
• normally live in New Zealand and intend to stay here
• are not paying rent for a social housing property. Social housing properties are provided by Kāinga Ora (used to be Housing New Zealand) and approved community housing providers.

It also depends on:

• how much you and your spouse or partner earn
• any money or assets you and your spouse or partner have.

Check if you can get Accommodation Supplement

To find out if you could get Accommodation Supplement and what else you might qualify for, use our 'Check what you might get' tool.

How much you will get on the Accommodation Supplement will depend on:

• your income
• your assets
• your accommodation costs
• your family circumstances
• where you live.

This payment is not taxed.

Use our 'Check what you might get' tool to work out how much Accommodation Supplement you might be able to get.

We can grant you the financial assistance you're entitled to from the date you first contact us if you complete your application within 20 working days of that date.

New client or only getting childcare payments

If you're not getting any payments from us, or only getting childcare payments, you can either:

• apply online through MyMSD, or
• fill out an Extra Help application form.

If you can't apply online or fill out the form, call us.

If this is your first time applying for a benefit or ongoing payment, you need to bring your original government-issued ID into a service centre so we can check it. Checking ID in person helps us make sure we give support to the right person and protect your identity. Find out more here.

Apply online

1. Apply online through MyMSD. We'll check if you can get any other payments at the same time.
2. Provide proof of your costs. You can upload this to MyMSD as part of your online application.

After you've applied we may book an appointment with you if we need more information. This could be a phone appointment or a face-to-face appointment.

Fill out application form

You can fill out the Extra Help application form. You'll also need to provide proof of your costs.

You can get your application form and proof of costs to us by either:

• dropping them in to your nearest service centre
• posting them to your nearest service centre, or
• uploading them to MyMSD (you'll need to call us first).

After you've applied we may book an appointment with you if we need more information. This could be a phone appointment or a face-to-face appointment.

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Existing client

If you're already getting payments from us, eg, a benefit or Disability Allowance, you can complete an Accommodation Supplement application form. You'll also need to provide proof of your costs.

You can get your application form and proof of costs to us by either:

• dropping them in to your nearest service centre
• posting them to your nearest service centre, or
• uploading them to MyMSD (you'll need to call us first).

After you've applied we may book an appointment with you if we need more information. This could be a phone appointment or a face-to-face appointment.

If you can't fill out the form, call us on 0800 559 009.

If you're a student, you can apply through the StudyLink website

If you're already getting Accommodation Supplement and your accommodation costs change, you need to let us know.

If you're not sure what costs are included in your Accommodation Supplement, you can check in MyMSD.