Teresa Timber used to share her Belyuen home with her late husband. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
For more than 30 years, Teresa Timber has lived in the same house in Belyuen, a remote Northern Territory community west of Darwin.
But last month, she received an unexpected letter from the housing department.
"They just showed us a paper and that was it," she said.
The letter outlined changes to how public housing tenants in remote areas, including Ms Timber, would pay rent.
"We are changing the way we work out how much rent you need to pay," the letter said.
"There will be no more rental rebates. The new way is easy and fair. You will pay for how many bedrooms in your house."
Ms Timber, who has lived in the same four-bedroom house since 1987, discovered her rent would leap from $78 per fortnight — automatically deducted out of her disability pension — to $560 per fortnight.
That's an increase of more than $200 a week.
Belyuen residents say they were disappointed by the news. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
"If all my money's going to go out of my rent through Centrelink, to Territory Housing, I'm going to be left with maybe $200," she said.
"So we could have either food on the table or power in the house."
Remote Territorians to pay more for public housing
Ms Timber is among thousands of public housing tenants living in remote Northern Territory communities and town camps.
The way the NT Government calcuates rent for public housing is changing on September 5. (Supplied)
On September 5, the government will abolish income-based rent settings for these properties and introduce pricing schemes, resulting in about two-thirds of tenants paying more to live in their homes, according to some experts.
The changes mean remote NT tenants will be charged per room, becoming the only public housing tenants in Australia whose rent is not calculated based on income.
And in these remote areas, there is no private market, so residents rely on public housing.
The new rules will apply to all remote public houses — no matter the house's age or condition — in regions plagued by overcrowding and a lack of housing.
Belyuen Shire is home to about 160 people. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
Cost of living adding to concerns
Angelina Lewis, who looks set to pay about $300 more per fortnight under the new reforms, said the changes would make living a healthy life even more of a struggle.
"Food in our store — the price is up – you probably walk out of there with a hundred dollars of shopping in a plastic bag," she said.
Angelina Lewis (centre) says the rent increase will make it hard to budget. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
"How are you going to survive with the rent price going up?
"We like to buy good [healthy] food. We like to go out camping, travelling for sports, just to break the stress. We don't want to be living here, just paying for rent."
Ms Timber's brother Lesley Nilco, who is the head of his household, said the new model wouldn't work without proper consultation.
Under the new rules, a head tenant or a co-tenant must bear the responsibility of collecting rent from all the tenants.
"No, it's not [going to] work that way," Mr Nilco said.
"They need to come and sit with all of us in the house."
Lesley Nilco says the NT government needs to listen to communities. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
Government promises 'safety net' provision
The government believes the new rental system is simple and will protect people from rental stress.
A spokesperson for the NT's housing department said it included a "safety net", where some struggling tenants may be charged 25-per-cent of their household income for a limited time.
However, the department did not provide further details on how long that safety net would last, how tenants could seek to have the safety net applied, or what would change after it was lifted, for those on welfare payments.
A report by the Australian National University found rent would increase for 80-per-cent of renters in Central Australia and 81-per-cent of residents in the Barkly, under the new scheme.
It claimed the temporary safety net introduced a "significant level of discretion, which good policy-making seeks to avoid".
"It risks penalising the shy, those who struggle to speak English, and others unable to avail themselves of the discretion of housing staff," the report said.
"We are unaware of any documents specifying how this time-limited and discretionary safety net will be applied."
The government says the new system includes a "safety net" to protect people from rental stress. (ABC News: Felicity James)
Communities 'not widely consulted', land council claims
The Northern Land Council, which represents Aboriginal Territorians in the Top End, said the NT government failed to adequately justify the rent increases.
"The new model does not mirror what was proposed in 2018, particularly the increase in charges per bedroom," a spokesperson said in a statement.
"The justification for the rent increase has not been widely consulted."
A government spokesperson said tenancy officers went "door-to-door across more than 80 communities", informing tenants of the new model.
However, Ms Timber said she had not been given any detailed information about the safety net, and wasn't sure if she was eligible.
"We're not sure what's going on," she said.
"We hear bits and pieces, but we need to hear it from Territory Housing themselves, help us understand what it means, a safety net for us."
Ms Timber said she would be willing to move into a smaller house to reduce rent, however, with most places already taken, she didn't know how that would be possible.
Ms Timber says she wants the best for her family. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
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