You might be thinking about leaving the Rent Deduction Scheme (RDS). Tenants on Centrelink must sign up to the Rent Deduction Scheme (RDS) when signing a lease with Homes NSW. They are allowed to cancel later if they want to.
An RDS agreement allows Centrelink to deduct some of your income to pay your rent and other charges. Other members of your household can also request deductions through RDS that allows them to contribute to your rent and other charges.
The most common reason for Homes NSW ending someone's tenancy is the tenant not paying rent on time. The RDS helps you make sure you're paying rent on time, which helps you avoid a housing crisis if you miss rent payments. For this reason, we strongly encourage you to continue your RDS agreement.
Think carefully before leaving the Rent Deduction Scheme
Many tenants leave the scheme to stop paying rent for a while, such as over Christmas. But not paying rent for even a short amount of time has severe consequences.
Here are a few reasons to reconsider leaving the RDS:
- If you miss paying your rent, your home is immediately at risk.
- Homes NSW is automatically notified when you leave the RDS. From the next day, the local office will start to check that you've paid your rent on time.
- If you miss paying your rent, we will take action quickly to recover the rent you owe. This includes over the Christmas and New Year period.
- If your rent account is not up to date, we will send you a notice that we are ending your tenancy. We will also apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to end the tenancy.
- Losing your home is very stressful. Continuing your RDS agreement keeps your rent payments current and helps prevent that.
With RDS you will never have to worry about missing a rent payment, or the risk of losing your tenancy. It is the most stress-free way to ensure your rent is paid on time.
We do understand that tenants leave the scheme for other reasons. As long as you use another method to pay your rent on time, your tenancy will not be at risk. We thank you in advance for continuing to pay your rent on time.
If you'd like to discuss this with a staff member, please contact your local Homes NSW office.