The federal government's 'welfare reform' agenda recognises the potential importance of housing in the overall structure of welfare and tax reform but has not addressed this issue in any depth. In this paper Kath Hulse and Bill Randolph attempt to fill a part of this research gap. It reports on the findings of research into the financial and non-financial disincentives faced by renters who are unemployed and looking for paid work, and identify how living in rental housing and being in receipt of different forms of rental housing assistance can contribute to incentives or disincentives to getting a job.