Community Housing Management Transfer
Under the Tasmanian Government’s Community Housing Growth Program (CHGP), the tenancy management of over 400 households will move across to Centacare Evolve Housing. We will start managing the tenancies from 1 September 2021.
Not quite sure what all this means for you? Need to know what the process will look like? Wondering how we set rent? Read below for more information.
Our Centacare Evolve Housing team will be contacting new tenants over the coming weeks to have a conversation with you about the management transfer. In the meantime, if you have any questions the team is just a phone call away - (03) 6173 0060.
What is the Community Housing Growth Program?
What is the Community Housing Growth Program?
The Tasmanian Government’s Community Housing Growth Program (CHGP) will transfer the long-term management of 2000 public housing properties to Community Housing Providers like Centacare Evolve Housing. The Tasmanian Government has provided capital funding from the Rebuilding Tasmania Infrastructure Investment Fund: COVID-19 Response for the CHGP. So, as well as the transfer of property management to organisations like Centacare Evolve Housing, this means Tasmania’s economic and social recovery is enabled by building more social housing.
What is Centacare Evolve Housing’s Community Housing Management Transfer?
Under the Government’s CHGP, Centacare Evolve Housing will take over management of more than 400 homes in the Derwent Valley, Glenorchy City, Brighton, Southern Midlands and Central Highlands Local Government Areas, as of 1 September 2021.
Centacare Evolve Housing is a Tier 1 registered Community Housing Provider, which already owns or manages over 2000 properties across Tasmania – including the management of hundreds of tenancies on behalf of Housing Tasmania. We are an experienced housing provider and are excited to welcome an additional 400 households to our organisation.
How will this improve your tenancy and Tasmania’s social housing system?
Centacare Evolve Housing has proven experience in providing tenancy management and building social and affordable housing. We continually strive to offer the best service and housing for our tenants. We are also playing a vital role in strengthening Tasmania’s social housing system through:
- a responsive and supportive tenancy management service
- a suite of maintenance and upgrade services
- a specialised client support program
- a well-established community wellbeing approach
- a network of offices throughout the state, including a new office in the Derwent Valley
- the provision of housing to priority applicants from the Housing Register
- building new homes in areas of high housing demand, and
- long-term agreements between the state Government, increasing certainty for continued services for tenants.
Useful Information
The Transfer Process
We are expanding our tenancy management portfolio
As a result of the Tasmanian Government’s Community Housing Growth Program, the transfer of over 400 households will move across to Centacare Evolve Housing for tenancy management. There are a few simple steps involved and our team are here to make sure the process is as easy as possible.
During the transfer process, you will be allocated a Unique Payment Account Number. This number is used to ensure your rental payments are allocated to your tenancy. The number will be provided to you shortly and you do not have to do anything further until one of our Tenancy Officers contacts you.
Meeting our tenancy team will be a great opportunity to get to know us better and to ask any questions about our organisation or the transfer process.
If you have any questions about the transfer process before one of our Tenancy Officers reaches out to you, you can call us on (03) 6173 0060. Your Housing Tasmania Tenancy Officer will continue to be your primary point of contact for ongoing tenancy enquiries, prior to 1 September 2021.
Rental Payments Explainer
What will happen to your rent?
If you live in one of the properties identified as part of the management transfer, Housing Tasmania will no longer manage your tenancy after 1 September 2021. Centacare Evolve Housing will become your new housing provider from this date. You will pay your rent to us and we will be the contact for all tenancy management inquiries. You will not need to move out of your home and the terms of your current lease agreement will continue.
Your lease will automatically transfer to Centacare Evolve Housing, which means you will not be required to sign a new lease agreement. When your current lease expires you will need to sign a lease with us, even though the terms will be the same as all other housing providers, including Housing Tasmania.
There will be no change to the way your Centrelink income is used to calculate your rent contribution, so the amount of income you pay in rent will not be affected. However, there will be one key difference to the way your rent is assessed if you are eligible to receive Commonwealth Rent Assistance.
What is Commonwealth Rent Assistance?
Commonwealth Rent Assistance is a supplementary monetary benefit, provided by Centrelink, payable to eligible people who rent in the private rental or community housing market. If you are eligible for this benefit, it is paid to you on top of your normal Centrelink payment or other income.
Once your tenancy is managed by Centacare Evolve Housing, you will pay your usual rent contribution and the additional Commonwealth Rent Assistance to us. This means you will receive additional support services during your tenancy, without being out of pocket.
Useful Information:
Maintenance
During the Management Transfer process, July to September 2021, Housing Tasmania will continue to look after all your maintenance needs.
Once Centacare Evolve Housing formally begins managing your tenancy, 1 September 2021, we will be responsible for the maintenance of your property. We have an experienced maintenance team and a well-established process for delivering high-quality maintenance services under our current maintenance system.
You can find more information about our maintenance process by clicking here.
Community Wellbeing
Community Wellbeing
Centacare Evolve Housing is about much more than managing and building properties. We have a strong social commitment to enhancing the wellbeing of tenants and the communities we serve. We deliver initiatives to engage with tenants and the community. Using a Social Impact Approach, we work with community members to focus on the strengths of the community.
As part of our role in the community, Centacare Evolve Housing seeks to contribute to growing a vibrant place, which values the dignity and worth of each person. Improving individual, family and community wellbeing requires a holistic approach that addresses all aspects of life. We work together to build community capacity and strengthen connections between people and the places we share. As a Centacare Evolve Housing tenant, you will have access to our Community Wellbeing Program.
A Social Impact Approach
Centacare Evolve Housing and CatholicCare Tasmania have developed a Social Impact Approach to guide the design and implementation of our wellbeing activities. The approach focuses on the integration of internal services and the strengthening of external partnerships, with a particular emphasis on place-based support.
Individual, family and community wellbeing and social change at the community level is complex. To address these complexities the Social Impact Approach works across seven interconnected domains:
- Education
- Housing
- Safety
- Economics
- Health
- Spirituality
- Community Engagement
The social impact framework is aligned to the Tasmanian Government’s Child and Youth Wellbeing Framework and other frameworks. We use this to evaluate the effectiveness of our community engagement and development initiatives.
Tenants’ Engagement Group
Centacare Evolve Housing values the voice of our tenants and we facilitate a number of Tenants’ Engagement Groups (TEG) as a way to gain feedback and help inform us about our service and community wellbeing initiatives. The various groups meet regularly. Group members are a key link between tenants, the community and Centacare Evolve Housing.
We will be starting a Tenant Engagement Group in the Derwent Valley from October 2021 onwards. If you are interested in joining, please contact us on 6173 0060 or email centacareevolve@aohtas.org.au and ask for the Community Wellbeing Officer.
Click here to find out more about our Community Wellbeing Program.