Affordable Housing

What is affordable housing?

Most affordable housing is managed by not-for-profit Community Housing Providers and is offered to people who are on very low to moderate gross incomes. The rent for an affordable housing property is calculated as a discount on the market rent - at least 20% but occasionally as high as 30%.

For example, if the market rent is $500 a week, then the affordable rental amount would be $400 a week. As each property has a different market rent an applicant may be eligible for one property but not another as it falls outside of their determined affordable range.

Each property has its own eligibility criteria based on what the market rent would be, and providers assess applications using this criteria when determining eligibility. When applications are assessed the housing provider will also take into consideration criteria relevant to standard rental applications, such as previous rental history, to approve an applicant as well as factoring in the required affordable housing guides.

Affordable housing properties are often advertised on www.realestate.com.au, www.domain.com.au or www.welcomemat.com.au.

Guidelines and Eligibility Criteria

Income Bands

Income Bands	% of median income	Annual income limits (remainder of NSW i.e Central Coast, Newcastle / Lake Macquarie / Hunter) 2025–26*
Very Low	50% median	$54,300
Low	50%–80% median	$86,900
Moderate	80%–120% median	$130,300

*Whilst these are limits, they are subject to annual review. In undertaking an assessment, we also consider % of median income which can be explained as part of your application.

New South Wales Eligibility Limits By Household Size

Household Members	Very Low	Low	Moderate
Single Adult	$32,500	$52,100	$78,100
Each Additional adult (18 years or over)	Add $16,300 to the income limit	Add $26,100 to the income limit	Add $39,100 to the income limit
Each Additional child (under 18 years)	Add $9,800	Add $15,600	Add $23,400

Household Type	Very Low	Low	Moderate
Single	$32,500	$52,100	$78,100
Single + 1	$42,300	$67,700	$101,500
Single + 2	$52,100	$83,300	$124,900
Single + 3	$61,900	$98,900	$148,300
Couple	$48,800	$78,200	$117,200
Couple + 1	$58,600	$93,800	$140,600
Couple + 2	$68,400	$109,400	$164,000
Couple + 3	$78,200	$125,000	$187,400

Calculations

We understand that the criteria and calculations can be complicated and each application does need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis with some discretion of the community housing provider.

To assess the income eligibility to rent ratio, follow the below formula:

X (rent) / Y (wage) = Percentage

If this result is under 25%, you may be eligible depending on the other criteria. If the percentage is between 25-30% you may be eligible depending on other criteria and the community housing provider’s discretion. If it is over 30%, you will not be eligible.

Examples

1. A one bedroom unit in Gosford has a market rent of $435 per week. An affordable housing discount of 20% is applied, making the actual rent $348 per week.

A single person applies for the property who earns a gross income of $73,000 per year i.e. $1,403 per week. To be eligible they would need to be paying under 25-30% of their gross wage towards accommodation.

There are two ways to calculate this:

$348 (rent) / $1,403 (wage) = 24% (eligible).
30% (threshold) x $1,403 (wage) = $420. The rent is under $420 (eligible).

2. A three bedroom house in Gosford has a market rent of $670 per week. An affordable housing discount of 20% is applied, making the actual rent $536 per week.

There is a couple who have 1 dependent and their household income is $100,000 per year i.e. $1,923 per week. Their income sits between the income limit ranges and is under the maximum of $140,600. To determine whether they will be contributing more than 25-30% of their wage toward rent, we use the above formula:

$536 (rent) / $1,923 (wage) = 27%

As this percentage falls within the 25-30% bracket, it will be further assessed by the community housing provider and up to their expert discretion to determine eligibility and sustainability of the tenancy.

Other important things to note:

If you have a live social housing application, the ministerial guidelines state that an approved affordable housing application will mean that you are deemed suitably housed and your social housing application may be removed from the register.
Wages are assessed off of gross income.
If you were originally eligible but after an assessment was completed it has been determined that you are no longer eligible, you will need to discuss next steps with the community housing provider.
There are certain determinations that may need to be considered as part of your application for affordable housing relating to savings, investments and shares.
Once an application is approved, there is also ongoing eligibility criteria that applies to affordable housing and will be assessed 1-2 times per year.

Further information relating to eligibility is available on the Homes NSW website.

Affordable Housing