Electronic Verification of Rent (EVoR) 101-25111947

EVoR is a secure online service which enables approved community housing providers or supported accommodation providers to update tenant (customer) rent amounts directly with Services Australia. It is accessed in Business Hub.

For housing providers to be able to use EVoR, customers must:

• have already provided Services Australia with verification of the rent they pay, and
• be receiving Rent Assistance

Housing providers can then use EVoR to update and verify any subsequent changes to the tenants’ rent amount. This triggers a re-assessment of the customer’s eligibility and entitlement for Rent Assistance. A letter is issued to the customer each time rent is updated using EVoR which shows their rent details and Rent Assistance entitlement.

Housing providers can use it to update rent amounts for one customer (single update) or multiple customers (bulk update) at a time.

Using EVoR to update rent amounts when they change means the customer will:

• get the right amount of Rent Assistance paid to them
• not have to provide a rent certificate to Services Australia each time their rent changes

A housing provider cannot use EVoR to:

• start Rent Assistance, the customer must provide verification to do this first
• notify or update a customer’s address
• update a relationship status
• update a sharer status
• notify of the purchase or sale of real estate

See Submitting a business application for EVoR in Processing an Electronic Verification of Rent (EVoR) business application.

In accordance with the Privacy Act 1988, it is mandatory for a business to obtain informed consent from the customer before making rent updates using EVoR. Implied consent cannot be relied upon for EVoR.

Customer consent for EVoR is voluntary and can be withdrawn at any time by the customer. Businesses can obtain customer consent in writing, verbally or online.

When obtaining consent, businesses must use the standard consent wording available in the EVoR procedural guide and demonstrate they can meet all our consent requirements. A copy of the consent record must be provided by the business when it lodges a business application for the agency's review. If a business wishes to collect consent using an online workflow or application, screenshots of the proposed consent process must be provided for review before being approved to use EVoR.

Businesses use Centrelink Business Online Services (CBOS) or Business Hub to access EVoR. See Resources for a link to user guides.

Rent updates via EVoR must be made between 15 and 50 days before the rent changes. If the housing provider does not make rent updates in this timeframe, EVoR cannot be used and customers must provide rent verification to the agency themselves.

EVoR is a free service and there are no costs to customers or businesses to use EVoR to update rent amounts.

Customers must:

• provide verification of the rent they pay to start Rent Assistance entitlements. Once this is done, housing providers can use EVoR to update changes in rent amounts
• provide verification of how much rent they pay if their housing provider is unable to make the update in EVoR for any reason. This could be because of a system or administrative issue, or a customer has a Restricted Access record
• ensure that the rent details are correct at all times. Customers can update their rent amount by:
• contacting their housing provider, or
• providing verification to the agency of their new rent details
• advise Services Australia of any other changes in circumstance within 14 days. This includes change of address, relationship status or sharing arrangements

The TrEVoR service can be used when State and Territory Housing Authorities transfer the tenancy management of government housing properties to a (non-government) community housing provider. See Housing Transition Commencement of Rent (TrEVoR)