13 juin 1974 - State Housing: Rent setting formula - starts

Description:

From this time that rent for state houses was set at the lower of the ‘fair rent’ or one-sixth of household income (defined as the tenant’s income plus two-thirds of the income of his or her spouse).
Under the provisions of the Tenancy Act 1955, the rent for state housing could not exceed the “fair rent”. Prior to this time, rents were rebated according to family size and income.
The ‘fair rent’ provisions were introduced in 1955 and by the 1980s the ‘fair rent’ was around half the rent of an equivalent private property.

Source: https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/about-msd/history/social-assistance-chronology-programme-history.html