Landlords received a windfall after Steven Joyce delivered his first Budget as Finance Minister. Maximum Accommodation Supplement payments were boosted across the board in a move the government said was designed to help low-income earners catch up with rising housing costs.
“The Accommodation Supplement maximum payments will be increased to better reflect the increasing housing costs that lower income families face,” Joyce said. Maximum AS payments will be boosted by between $5 and $80 nationwide over the country’s four area brackets. Central and Northern Auckland remain in the top ‘area 1’ bracket and will now be joined by Central Auckland surrounds, South and West Auckland, Tauranga, Queenstown, Wanaka and Arrowtown, which have been elevated into the top bracket for the Accommodation Supplement (AS) rent subsidy.
