If you are renting or a boarder, a serious illness may cause you to change your living situation.
If you would like to stay in your rental home during treatment but can’t pay rent how you usually would, contact your landlord and talk about options for changing the ways you pay rent during the treatment period.
You may want to explain your diagnosis, the duration of treatment, and the timing of any income you might receive during this time. Are you getting a lump sum insurance payout? Regular payments from your insurer? An accommodation supplement through Work and Income?
Your landlord may be able to accommodate you paying rent on a different timeline to how you were paying before – for example, in a lump sum in a month’s time; weekly, fortnightly, or monthly, depending on when your income is credited into your account, etc.
As long as you can pay rent, your landlord should not have any reason to end your tenancy unless something changes for the landlord themselves, such as selling the house or their own family needing to use it in an emergency.
If you would like to leave your rental and seek other options such as living with family, you’ll need to look into the type of lease you have and what is required for giving notice.
If a solution can’t be found – whether with changing your rental payments or leaving your tenancy – contact Tenancy Services.
If you do need to appeal to the Tenancy Tribunal, there are accessible legal resources available. You can approach Citizen’s Advice Bureau and ask for help with understanding your lease, or with next steps in resolving a conflict with your landlord.