Temporary Accommodation Assistance

Temporary Accommodation Assistance is available. It's to help some homeowners who can't live in their home due to a severe weather event. Their insurance cover for rental accommodation also needs to be ending soon.

A severe weather event includes:

  • Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman flooding (August 2022)
  • Auckland flooding (January/February 2023)
  • Cyclone Gabrielle (February 2023).

Who can get it

You may be able to get Temporary Accommodation Assistance if you:

  • are paying costs for the home you own and usually live in, but you can't live in because it has a red or yellow placard
  • are renting in temporary accommodation with a tenancy agreement:
    • under the Residential Tenancies Act, i.e. a formal tenancy agreement, and
    • that you signed before 20 July 2023
  • have been getting temporary accommodation cover from your insurance company and this cover:
    • is for your temporary accommodation costs, and
    • has now stopped or is due to stop
  • are registered with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's (MBIE's) Temporary Accommodation Service, and
  • are not getting any other help from us for the rental accommodation you're living in at the moment.

You must also be either a:

  • New Zealand citizen
  • New Zealand resident, or
  • recognised as a refugee or protected person.

You also must be ordinarily resident in New Zealand.

It doesn't depend on your income or assets.

The Temporary Accommodation Assistance is based on your family type and the area your temporary accommodation is in. The rates for this payment are set out in the table below.

You will get the lesser amount of either:

  • the rate of Temporary Accommodation Assistance as shown in the table below, or
  • the amount of rent you're paying to stay in temporary accommodation.

This will be a weekly payment that's not taxed.

Temporary Accommodation Assistance rates

Select each area in the table below to find out what locations are in what area. Area 4 is any location that is not in area 1, 2 or 3.

Location of temporary accommodation

Family type

Area 1

Area 2

Area 3

Area 4
Single (no children) $330 $270 $260 $250
Couple with no children, or sole parent with 1 child $480 $420 $380 $340
Couple with 1 child, or sole parent with 2 children $560 $480 $430 $380
Couple 2+ children, or sole parent with 3+ children $610 $510 $460 $400

How your other payments are affected

Temporary Accommodation Assistance won't affect most payments you get from us. It also won't affect your:

  • Working for Families
  • Student Loan,
  • Student Allowance, or
  • child support obligations.

It may affect these payments:

  • Accommodation Supplement
  • Accommodation Benefit
  • Temporary Additional Support that's paid for accommodation costs, and
  • Special Benefit.

If any of your other payments are affected, we'll let you know.

You need to book an appointment to come in and apply. To book the appointment you can either:

Here’s the application form. You can print and fill it out, or we’ll complete it with you at your appointment.

linksTemporary Accommodation Assistance application form (PDF 971.53KB)

You'll need to bring these documents with you to the appointment:

  • your tenancy agreement, or NZ Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) agreement
  • proof you cannot live in your property due to it receiving a red or yellow placard
  • insurance documents that confirm you've been paid temporary accommodation cover
  • bank statement
  • proof of rental accommodation costs, and
  • proof of home ownership costs.

You'll also need to bring 2 forms of ID. This could be either a:

  • NZ or Australian passport
  • NZ birth certificate
  • driver licence, or
  • temporary NZ passport.

If you only have one of the above listed documents, you can bring this as well as a utility bill or rates notice.

Once you're getting the payment, you need to let us know about any change in your circumstances. For example, if your living situation changes.

We'll check to make sure you still meet the criteria to get this payment.

You can also read about Temporary Accommodation Assistance in Te Reo Māori by downloading our factsheet:

linksTemporary Accommodation Assistance factsheet in Te Reo Māori (PDF 230.61KB)