Public housing tenants to have rent taken out of their welfare

EXCLUSIVE: Public housing tenants will have rent deducted from welfare payments under a Turnbull government plan to stop people running up huge debts.

A new government plan will see rent taken out of welfare payments.

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PUBLIC housing tenants will have rent deducted from welfare payments under a Turnbull government plan to stop people running up huge debts.

Nearly 9000 households in social housing owe more than three weeks rent, and more than 2300 people lose housing every year because they fall too far behind in their payments.

Alan Tudge.

The government hopes the Automatic Rent Deduction Scheme will stop people on welfare prioritising other purchases and create security to ensure private developers build more social housing.

Human Services Minister Alan Tudge said social housing systems across the country were losing more than $30 million a year from unpaid rent.

“This is one of a number of measures the government is introducing to encourage private investment in social housing and consequently increase the availability of affordable housing,” Mr Tudge told The Daily Telegraph.

“Secure housing for those on welfare is an important priority for the government ... We must not forget those who are really in most need of our assistance and this scheme will help them with secure housing.”

Under the scheme, to begin next March, social housing tenants would have their rent deducted and paid to their housing provider before they received welfare payments.

All states except Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT have signed on, with the federal government expected to introduce legislation within months.

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There is now a voluntary rent deduction system, but figures show more than 26,000 of the 398,000 welfare recipients using the system had cancelled payments, some several times.

The Daily Telegraph understands the Department of Human Services is also worried some welfare recipients, particularly those vulnerable because of a mental illness, are being exploited financially.

In one case, a 45-year-old man with schizophrenia and who suffers from anxiety and depression was found to be regularly cancelling rental deductions for his home to give money to other people.