Housing Contact Centre – Help, Information and Advice!

The NSW Department of Housing provides a myriad of services relating to housing. These fall under the domain of the Housing Contact Centre which provides assistance and advice to tenants, financial support to people facing repossession of their homes and help with accommodation for those experiencing a housing crisis.

Housing Contact Centre programs

The NSW Department of Housing's, Housing Contact Centre (HCC) provides a range of services to assist tenants with enquiries and maintenance requests. In addition, people facing repossession of their home can inquire about financial assistance, or access informed and unbiased advice about purchasing or building a home. The HCC can be contacted on 1800 629 212, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Help for those people experiencing a housing crisis

People experiencing a housing crisis or those who are homeless can visit their local Department of Housing office for assistance. Alternatively, services can refer people to the HCC’s After Hours Temporary Accommodation Line (AHTAL) on 1800 152 152 between 4.30pm and 10pm, Monday to Friday and 10am-10pm, weekends and public holidays. Staff will work to secure the applicant a bed for the night, but the recipient must attend the Department’s office the following day to discuss their long term accommodation options. Clients who present with complex needs who require additional support are referred to supported crisis accommodation. 

Mortgage Assistance Scheme

The HCC administers the Mortgage Assistance Scheme which provides families battling to repay their mortgage with a financial safety net. It provides an interest free loan to home owners experiencing difficulties repaying their mortgage, and helps families hold on to their homes.

To qualify for assistance the applicant must not owe more than $270K on their mortgage and their gross household income must be below $70K.  The service can only be accessed if the applicant has already exhausted all other options to avoid repossession and if the circumstance leading to the difficulty is the result of an accident, retrenchment, crisis or unavoidable event - not due to an increase in interest rates.

Home Purchase Advisory Service – 1800 629 212

The Home Purchase Advisory Service provides free information and advice to people looking to buy a home or vacant land on which to build. The Service provides information on how to choose a builder, select housing finance, checklists and various contacts for home-purchase related organisations.

Rentstart

Rentstart by Phone is an extension of the existing Rentstart program which enables the public to apply for Rentstart without actually visiting a Department of Housing office. Those interested can phone the Housing Contact Centre on 1300 HOUSING – 1300 468 746 to process their application or they can download a form from the website www.housing.nsw.gov.au.   This can even be done by real estate agents.  The form is then completed and faxed back along with all essential documents.

Rentstart Standard is a product that helps people move into the private rental market, whilst Rentstart Plus provides further assistance including full bond, rent in advance, and temporary accommodation. The Rentstart Tenancy Assistance program helps clients maintain a tenancy through help with rental arrears; and the soon-to-be released Rentstart Move provides information and a Statement of Satisfactory Tenancy to help people with their transition from public to private housing.