How tenancy support programs prevent tenancy breakdowns

Purpose of tenancy support

Tenancy support programs help individuals and families who may be experiencing housing hardships to stay in their homes and maintain stable long-term housing.

Vulnerable individuals and families are often provided with advocacy, financial assistance, case management, and offered practical advice and support when assisted through a tenancy support program.

In this blog, we will share some information on who can be assisted through a tenancy support program, how the model works, the effectiveness of these programs, opportunities for improvement, and more.

Target group and context of tenancy support

People can experience housing insecurity due to a range of factors. This might include renters who are at risk of facing eviction or are in rent arrears, people transitioning from homelessness to public housing, and tenants who are having trouble navigating complex tenancy laws and responsibilities.

Some of the key individuals and families that may require tenancy support include:

Young people who are transitioning from care
People who are at risk of experiencing homelessness
People experiencing domestic and family violence and need help to establish a safe home
People with complex needs (i.e., disabilities, mental health issues, etc.)
People living in social housing who may be (or have a history of) struggling to maintain their tenancy
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals or families living in public or community housing
Low-income earners and those experiencing financial hardship
First time renters with little understanding of their rights and obligations.

Tenancy support is designed to help renters (like those mentioned above) to access support, guidance and information on their rights to stay housed and maintain housing in the long run.

Key elements of the tenancy support model

In Queensland, tenancy support models follow the Supportive housing policy¹ which endorses the following framework.

Housing first – with housing being the foundation for support and all other support being integrated around housing.
Person-centred – meaning support must be holistic, and wraparound support must be tailored to meet the tenants’ needs, rights and choices.
Safe – ensuring that housing is purpose-built and there are processes in place for 24/7 crisis assistance.
Secure – so that tenants have support during complex situations, and seamless support is in place to transfer to other housing options if necessary.
Affordable – with subsidised rent to make housing affordable.
Appropriate – with safeguarding measures to ensure housing meets the diverse and sustainable needs of tenants.
Partnership-driven – with cross collaboration between providers and government agencies.
Aligned – the department’s Housing principles for inclusive communities must align with the Human Rights Act 2019, United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Closing the Gap.
Evidence-based and innovative – the tenancy support model must be informed by evidence-based and innovative practice.

How effectiveness of support is measured

The effectiveness of tenancy support is measured differently for many programs and service providers. For instance, it could be measured by tracking the percentage of tenants who stay housed at various intervals, the percentage of clients who move on from at-risk situations into long-term housing or by measuring client satisfaction.

Additionally, it could also be tracked by measuring:

The decrease in service utilisation
The number or percentage of clients who achieve their set goals
Improvements in client wellbeing and social outcomes.

Evidence of tenancy support success

Tenancy support programs and services can be incredibly helpful in keeping tenants housed and supporting them to achieve positive long-term housing outcomes. Such success can be measured through government cost offsets achieved by governments when they invest into programs that service vulnerable individuals and families each year and by taking a further look into the number of clients that services, like ours, help.

When governments invest in effective tenancy support programs, they can significantly offset other societal costs associated with vulnerable individuals, due to their tenancy instability. This can include things like emergency services costs, health services costs, and homelessness services costs. According to a study by the University of Queensland, the annual cost offset per person of being securely housed, in comparison to being chronically homeless was $13,100.²

At Anglicare, we provide four different types of tenancy support programs. They include Homestay, the Queensland Drug and Alcohol Court, Women’s Early Intervention Service and Immediate Housing Response. These programs are incredibly successful in keeping clients housed. Between October 2023 to January 2025, almost 70% of clients supported through our Toowoomba Homestay program had their cases closed due to maintaining safe and secure housing.

According to Mission Australia, in 2025, Queensland-based tenancy support programs had a 98% success rate in supporting at-risk individuals at staying housed.³ Of those supported through a program, 4 in 5 reported improvements in their personal wellbeing.

Challenges and barriers

Unfortunately, housing insecurity is an escalating crisis in Australia. This is attributed to a range of systemic factors that need to be addressed by state and federal governments. With low rental vacancies, rising costs of living, supply shortages and unaffordable rent, many Australians are turning to housing and homelessness services to provide guidance and relief.

Additionally, some of the other challenges and barriers to the housing sector are:

Fragmented service delivery across a range of interconnecting services
Inadequate support and underfunding for affordable and accessible housing
Cultural and language barriers which make it more difficult to navigate rental laws
Domestic and family violence
Complex health and social needs including mental illness, substance use, trauma, and disabilities.

Strategies for improvement

As we explored in an earlier blog post, How effective are homelessness services, some of the most effective strategies for addressing the above-mentioned barriers and systemic challenges include providing clients with immediate and personalised case management. Support plans should be co-designed with clients and include regular check-ins and advocacy.

Specifically relating to tenancy support, here are some strategies for improvement across systemic levels and for service providers, more broadly:

Integrated service delivery

To help address fragmented service delivery by creating more synergies between government departments and other service providers. Often, those at risk of tenancy instability have underlying (or a range of underlying) challenges that contribute to their housing insecurity. By working together, these departments and services can create cohesive support to address the client’s broader issues and help them maintain stable, long-term housing outcomes.

Increase early intervention systems

By addressing the early warning signs of housing insecurity, rental agencies and tenancy support, services can collaborate earlier to prevent issues such as rent arrears or other behaviours from escalating to early eviction or tenancy breakdown. Rental agencies can also help refer at-risk households to support services earlier.

Investment into more tenancy support and sustainment programs

In Queensland, while the government already invests in funded tenancy support programs, many are at capacity. By investing in more of these programs and across locations where there are at-risk individuals, services can increase their support to people by providing more practical, individualised support that meets the specific needs of at-risk clients.

Review strict rental policies

Governments should be reviewing rental policies and regulatory reforms to focus on mediation and support for at-risk individuals. Additionally, they can help to enhance laws that strengthen tenant rights. For instance, limiting substantial rental increases and improving minimum standards for rental property conditions that are more realistic for tenants.

Other strategies for improvement

Providing more culturally safe tenancy support services for First Nations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse clients (i.e., hiring staff that can address the cultural needs of these individuals)
Trauma-informed care that prioritises the safety of vulnerable individuals including those who have experienced homelessness and those who have escaped domestic and family violence
Improve data collection and evaluation across agencies and sharing findings to inform or improve the need for change.

Broader impact

Tenancy support programs have vast positive impacts on at-risk individuals and their communities. By helping to prevent tenancy breakdown, these programs have a high success rate of keeping individuals and families housed and can improve their long-term housing circumstances. Additionally, they can lead to improved health and wellbeing outcomes, which can also benefit communities as it decreases the strain on emergency departments.

Other broader impacts that tenancy support programs have on clients and their communities include economic and social savings. As explained earlier, the offset costs of providing these services, compared to chronic homelessness equates to roughly $13,100 in Queensland.

Conclusion

Tenancy support programs help prevent tenancy breakdowns. While there is great demand for these services and a need to prioritise an investment in prevention, across Queensland, 98% of tenancy support services supported individuals and families to remain housed in 2025.

At Anglicare, we provide four tenancy support programs in specific service locations and for clients presenting with niche needs. These programs include:

Homestay – which services people at risk of homelessness in Toowoomba and the Southern Downs regions.

Queensland Drug and Alcohol Court – which provides support for people completing court-referred drug and alcohol treatment.

Women’s Early Intervention Service – helping women in contact with the criminal justice system wanting to connect with housing and tenancy support services.

Immediate Housing Response – providing short-term temporary accommodation for singles, couples and young people.

If you, or someone you know, could benefit from one of these programs, please contact Anglicare today to discuss your options. You can enquire on our website here or call our team on 1300 610 610.