PUBLIC housing tenants will have their rents jacked up as the state government makes a grab for a slice of their carbon tax compensation payments.
Community Services Minister Pru Goward said rents would rise from March because the federal grant meant to help struggling families will be counted as income.
Rents for public housing are calculated as a percentage of tenants’ incomes. Until now that has never included “supplementary” payments like the carbon tax compensation.
Ms Goward said the increase was needed to offset “property costs” that the government expects will go up as a result of the carbon tax.
