Changing a tenancy - Recognition as a tenant - Exceptions and evidence requirements

1. Exceptions to minimum period of occupation

Homes NSW will consider applicants with a shorter period of occupancy in the following circumstances:

• Where the client was recently released from prison or institutionalised care, and they used to live in the tenancy, Homes NSW will assess the application on its merits. Homes NSW will not decline the application on the basis that the client was not living with the tenant while in prison or institutionalised care.
  • Factors that Homes NSW will consider are:
    • the likelihood of the client living in the household if they were not in prison or institutionalised care, and
    • the tenancy history, and
    • their ability to otherwise meet their housing need.
• Where the client has relinquished a social housing tenancy to act as a live-in carer to the tenant or a member of their household, Recognition as a tenant may be granted even if they have not been part of that household for the past two years.
• A spouse or de facto partner will be considered for Recognition as a tenant even if they have temporarily moved away for reasons related to the illness of the tenant, care of an ill person or their own ill-health. The spouse or de facto partner must provide evidence that their temporary absence was due to these reasons.

2. Evidence requirements for a de facto partner

Where a client claims to be the de-facto partner of the tenant, Homes NSW must verify that the relationship is de facto. This verification is based on the Property (Relationships) Act 1984. This Act gives important rights to de facto partners when settling private property and other assets.

The Act defines a de facto relationship as a relationship between two adult persons, of the same or opposite sex, who:

• live together as a couple, and
• are not married to one another or related by family.

The Act gives additional property rights to adults who have been in a de facto relationship for two or more years.

When it is difficult to determine the nature of the relationship, an appropriate officer may ask to interview the client. If the information requested has been provided and there has been a reasonable amount of inquiry, yet staff are still in doubt as to the de facto status of the relationship, the benefit of the decision will go to the client.

If Homes NSW does not accept that a de facto relationship exists, the client may apply for Recognition as a tenant based on being a household member other than the spouse or de facto partner of the tenant.

To verify a de facto relationship, Homes NSW will consider such information as:

• Centrelink income statements
• its records of when the client joined the tenancy
• the local team’s knowledge of the history of the tenancy.

Where Homes NSW accepts that a client is the de facto partner of the tenant, they will be assessed as a spouse.

3. Evidence Requirements for an unauthorised occupant living in a property

Where a client claims to have been living in a property at the time the Recognition as a tenant event occurs and Homes NSW is unaware that they are living there, Homes NSW must verify the status of the client for their eligibility for a provisional lease. Documents of evidence include, but are not limited to:

• current Centrelink statement
• current utility bills
• current drivers' licence or NSW Photo Card.