Moving out for the first time
Participants moving out of the family home for the first time, where nobody in the household has been through a rental application before and the process is genuinely opaque.
Registered NDIS Provider · 405 358 3296
NDIS Accommodation and Tenancy Assistance in Queensland
Help finding a place to live, and help keeping it.
What is NDIS accommodation and tenancy assistance?
Accommodation and tenancy assistance is NDIS funding for support with finding somewhere to live and meeting the obligations that come with a tenancy. It does not pay your rent or your bond. It pays for a person to help you do the parts of renting that your disability makes harder.
In practice that covers a wide stretch of ground. Searching listings and working out which properties are realistic. Preparing an application that doesn't get thrown out at the first sort. Getting to inspections. Understanding what you're signing. Then, once you're in, keeping on top of the things that quietly put a tenancy at risk if nobody helps with them.
It sits in the Capacity Building part of your plan, under Improved Living Arrangements. That matters, because the funding is tied to that category and can't be pulled across from your Core budget if it runs out.
Who this support helps
Housing needed before a discharge date
People coming out of hospital, a rehabilitation unit or a period of homelessness who need housing sorted before a discharge date that's already been set.
A home that no longer works
Participants living in a place that no longer works. A second-storey unit after a mobility change. A share house that's become unsafe. A property the landlord is selling.
A tenancy already in trouble
Anyone whose tenancy is already in trouble. Notices to remedy a breach, rent arrears, complaints from neighbours, an inspection report that's gone badly. This is the point where the right support makes the biggest difference and the point where people are least likely to ask for it.
Formal communication is the hard part
It also suits participants who are managing fine day to day but find written and formal communication difficult. Plenty of people can maintain a home perfectly well and still freeze when a letter arrives from a real estate agent.
How the support works
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Work out what's realistic
We start by working out what you're actually looking for, and what's realistic in your area at your budget. That conversation is often the most valuable part, because it's where expectations and the Queensland rental market meet each other properly for the first time.
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Applications and inspections
From there the work is practical. We help you gather what an application needs, which is usually more paperwork than people expect: identification, rental history, references, proof of income. We'll go to inspections with you if you'd rather not go alone, and we'll ask the questions that are easy to forget when you're standing in a stranger's kitchen with eight other applicants.
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Before you sign
When you're offered something, we go through the agreement with you before you sign it. Entry condition reports, bond lodgement, what the landlord is responsible for, what you are. Getting the condition report right at the start is the single best protection you have when it's time to get your bond back.
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Once you're in
Once you're in, the support continues if you want it to. Reminders before routine inspections. Help understanding correspondence. Support to report maintenance properly so it gets actioned. Practice at the conversations with a property manager that feel confronting the first few times.
The problems participants run into
The Queensland rental market is difficult for everybody at the moment, and it's harder again if you're on a Disability Support Pension and competing against dual-income applicants at the same inspection.
Applications get rejected without a reason, which makes it almost impossible to work out what to fix. People apply for thirty properties, hear nothing back from any of them, and reasonably conclude the system isn't for them.
Disclosure is another one. Participants ask us constantly whether they have to tell an agent about their disability, and worry that mentioning support workers will count against them. It's a fair worry and it deserves a proper answer rather than a platitude.
Then there's what happens after the lease is signed. Tenancies rarely fail suddenly. They fail because a letter went unopened, or a maintenance request was made verbally and never recorded, or an inspection was missed because nobody explained that the notice in the letterbox required a response. By the time a breach notice arrives, the situation has usually been building for months.
And a lot of participants simply don't know this funding exists. It's often sitting unused in a plan while the person it belongs to is dealing with a housing problem on their own.
How GOTLEHS CARE helps
We treat a rental application as something you can get better at, because you can. A well-prepared application with a covering letter, a complete document set and a contactable reference stands out from a stack of half-filled forms, and that's within your control even when the market isn't.
On disclosure, we'll talk it through honestly. You're not obliged to disclose a disability to a property manager. Sometimes there's a practical reason to mention support arrangements, sometimes there isn't, and it's your decision to make with the full picture rather than a guess.
We work across Logan, Brisbane, Ipswich, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville and Cairns, which means we know where the pressure sits in different rental markets. What's realistic in Beenleigh isn't what's realistic in Robina, and a plan built on the wrong assumption wastes months.
Talk to us about your housing situation
Frequently asked questions
If your question isn't here, ring us on 0425 799 687. We'd rather answer it properly than have you guess.
Does NDIS tenancy assistance pay my rent or bond?
No. The NDIS does not fund rent, bond or utility bills. Accommodation and tenancy assistance funds the support of a person helping you find, apply for and maintain a tenancy. Rent comes out of your own income, usually alongside Commonwealth Rent Assistance if you're eligible for it.
Where does this funding sit in my NDIS plan?
It sits under Capacity Building, in the Improved Living Arrangements category. Because Capacity Building funding is tied to its category, it can't be topped up from your Core budget if you use it all, so it's worth planning how much you'll need across the plan period.
Do I have to tell a real estate agent that I have a disability?
No, you're under no obligation to disclose a disability when applying for a rental. There are situations where mentioning support arrangements helps, for example if workers will be attending regularly or if you need a modification approved, but it's your choice and we'll help you weigh it up before you decide.
Can you help if I've already received a breach notice?
Yes, and the sooner the better. Most notices come with a remedy period, and a written response inside that window usually resolves the matter. Bring us the notice with the date on it and we'll work through what it's asking for and what your options are.
Which parts of Queensland do you deliver this support in?
We deliver tenancy assistance across Logan, Brisbane, Ipswich, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville and Cairns. If your address sits outside those areas, ring us on 0425 799 687 and we'll tell you honestly whether we can service it.