Rent arrears assistance grants help tenants pay their outstanding rent debt that arose before 1 December 2020. Grants for 75 percent of rent arrears, up to a maximum of $4,000, will be paid directly to eligible landlords. This includes any rent that was waived or reduced during the moratorium emergency period.

General eligibility criteria:

• You live in WA and are permitted to live and work in Australia;
• You are in financial hardship, meaning you:
  • have less than $10,000 in savings; and
  • pay more than 25 per cent of your income in rent per week;
• You are tenant or sub-tenant in a private residential property, or a resident in a rooming house, or in a residential park (includes community housing);
• You had a residential tenancy agreement in place as at 1 December 2020 (includes boarders and lodgers with an agreement)
• You have a bond lodged with the Bond Administrator (if required under the Residential Tenancies Act 1987); and
• You and your current landlord have entered into a fixed-term tenancy agreement that continues for six months or longer beyond 29 March 2021.

You are eligible for rent arrears assistance:

• You are, or were, unemployed, having lost your job or 50 per cent of your income on or after 20 March 2020 due to COVID-19;
• or you were in receipt of a Centrelink payment (excluding JobKeeper), during the emergency period; and
• You have rent arrears (unpaid or deferred rent) or rent waived (or reduced) as at 1 December 2020; and
• You meet all of the general eligibility criteria listed at the top of this section.

You are eligible for future rent support if:

• You currently receive Centrelink payments; and
• You are facing a significant rent increase, greater than the normal market rate of five percent a year; and
• You meet all of the general eligibility criteria listed at the top of this section.

To assess your initial eligibility try our two-minute Residential Rent Relief Grant Scheme eligibility check HERE.