1978 NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 70 3 JULY 2014

15. Bond grant: amounts and limits—(1) The amount of any bond grant under clause 6(1) must be set by the chief executive within the limits set out in subclause (2).

(2) The total amount of a bond grant must not exceed the least of the following amounts:

(a) the amount of the bond payable by the applicant for the alternative housing:

(b) an amount that is equivalent to four weeks’ rent for that housing:

(c) $2,000.00.

Subpart 2—Moving Assistance

16. Purpose of this subpart—The purpose of this subpart is to allow for recoverable grants of special assistance towards the costs of people with low incomes moving to other social housing or alternative housing to help alleviate the hardship of having to meet those costs from their immediately available resources.

17. Moving assistance: eligibility—(1) An applicant who meets the residential criteria is eligible to be considered for moving assistance under this programme if—

(a) the applicant (whether alone or together with any other person) is—

(i) a tenant of any social housing; or

(ii) a person who is awaiting allocation of social housing; or

(iii) a person who has contacted the department or the agency in regard to the person’s housing need; and

(b) the applicant is moving to—

(i) alternative housing and in the chief executive’s opinion having regard to sustainability, the applicant is likely to be able to retain alternative housing; or

(ii) other social housing that in the chief executive’s opinion is more suitable to the applicant’s housing needs.

(2) Subclause (1) is subject to clause 18.

18. Moving assistance: ineligibility—An applicant is ineligible for moving assistance if he or she—

(a) has cash assets or income in excess of the cash assets limit and income limit; or

(b) has been granted assistance toward his or her moving costs by way of a grant for relocation costs under the Employment and Work Readiness Assistance Programme².

19. Moving assistance: moving costs defined—(1) A cost is a moving cost only if the chief executive considers it is a cost essential for the applicant to incur to move the household furniture, appliances, and personal effects of the applicant and any other person in the applicant’s household into the alternative housing or other social housing.

(2) Without limiting subclause (1), the following costs are examples of moving costs:

(a) the costs of engaging a moving company:

(b) the costs of hiring a truck, van or trailer:

(c) actual and reasonable fuel costs.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, costs relating to the transport of any person (for example airfares, bus or taxi fares) are not moving costs.

20. Moving assistance: principles to be applied in exercise of discretion to grant assistance—In exercising the discretion under clause 6(1), the chief executive must have regard to the following:

(a) the reasons the applicant needs the moving assistance; and

(b) whether other assistance or an advance payment of a benefit under the Act in respect of moving costs is available to the applicant; and

(c) any other matters the chief executive considers relevant.

21. Moving assistance: amounts and limits—(1) The amount of any moving assistance granted under clause 6(1) must be set by the chief executive having regard to the applicant’s moving costs.

(2) A grant of moving assistance must not exceed $1,500.00 or $1,500.00 in total in a 52-week period.

22. Moving assistance recoverable—Any grant of moving assistance is a recoverable grant of assistance and the amount of the grant is a debt due to the Crown by the applicant for the purpose of section 85A(d)(i) of the Act.

Subpart 3—Letting Fees Assistance

23. Purpose of this subpart—The purpose of this subpart is to provide grants of recoverable assistance to remove a financial barrier for certain low-income people moving into alternative housing for which letting fees are required to help alleviate the hardship of having to meet those costs from their immediately available resources.

24. Letting fees assistance: eligibility—(1) An applicant who meets the residential criteria is eligible to be considered for letting fees assistance under this programme if—

(a) the applicant (whether alone or together with any other person) is—

(i) a tenant of any social housing; or

(ii) a person who is awaiting allocation of social housing; or

(iii) a person who has contacted the department or the agency in regard to the person’s housing need; and

(b) in the chief executive’s opinion having regard to sustainability, is likely to be able to retain alternative housing; and

(c) requires assistance to pay letting fees in order to obtain alternative housing.

(2) Subclause (1) is subject to clauses 25 and 26.

25. Letting fees assistance: ineligibility—An applicant is ineligible for letting fees assistance if he or she—

(a) has cash assets or income in excess of the cash assets limit and income limit; or

(b) is a person who is, or whose spouse or partner is, eligible for assistance for letting fees by way of an advance payment of a benefit under the Act or under any other welfare programme established and approved under section 124(1)(d) of the Act.

26. Letting fees assistance: restrictions on grant—Only one grant of letting fees assistance may be made to an applicant or his or her spouse or partner (if any) in a 52-week period.

27. Letting fees assistance: amount—The amount of any grant of letting fees assistance is set by the chief executive but must not exceed an amount that is equivalent to one week’s rent plus GST for the alternative housing in respect of which the assistance is sought.

28. Letting fees assistance recoverable—Any grant of letting fees assistance is a recoverable grant of assistance.