Accommodation Supplement is a weekly payment which helps people with their rent, board or the cost of owning a home. Eligibility depends on the level of income and assets someone has.

When rent goes above a certain level, the Government helps cover most of the cost. That means tenants who are eligible wouldn't pay the full cost of the increase if rents were to increase to a baseline of 80% of market rate.

The Accommodation Supplement helps by contributing to rent costs once they exceed a set threshold. In the Ashburton area, this threshold is $139 per week.

For every dollar of rent above this amount, the government covers 70% of the additional cost, up to a maximum limit, while the tenant pays the remaining 30%.

In practical terms, this means that once rent goes beyond $139, tenants only need to fund 30 cents of each extra dollar, with the supplement covering the rest, helping to make higher rents more affordable.