Community & Business
23 March, 2023
Community housing rents to rise
COMMUNITY housing rent will increase by 6.1 per cent after Mareeba Shire Council completed a review of the fees.
Under State legislation, the council must review rents annually, comparing what tenants of community housing pay with rent paid for private market properties of similar standard and median rent data provided by the Residential Tenancies Authority.
The State Government sets the maximum affordable rent for community housing tenants at 25 per cent of assessable income plus Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA).
“Council's responsibility is to establish the market rent which is used to determine whether a tenant pays 25 per cent of their income plus Commonwealth Rent Assistance or market rent, whichever is the lesser,” a council report stated.
“This means that the income generated by the service is capped.”
The 6.1 per cent rise is in line with the increase adopted by council last year.
