How many social housing tenants, and how many households in emergency and transitional housing, if any, are forecast to be affected by the Income-related Rent saving in Budget 2026 (which raises the minimum tenant and client contribution from 25 to 30 per cent, phased in over 12 months from 1 April 2027), and what is the forecast average weekly increase in payments per affected household, broken down by region?

Answer

As Minister of Housing I note that these changes will impact all social housing tenants who are paying an income-related rent, as well as all households accessing emergency and transitional housing. At the time this initiative was costed, there were around 87,000 social housing tenants, with around 85,000 paying an income-related rent. As of 31 March 2026, there were 471 households in emergency housing and 5,942 transitional housing places. The change is projected to increase the income-related rent of around 84,000 social housing households, lowering after-housing cost income by an average of $31 per week. A regional breakdown of data is not available as income-related rent is a national rate (25% moving to 30%) and does not vary regionally in the same way that accommodation supplement does. There will be some variation regionally due to individual incomes. Other relevant information will soon be released as part of a proactive release.