Mature Student Grant

Jugs82

Hi,

I have been on here once or twice and have received great advice for my Girlfriend as she is heading back to college this September as a mature student for 1 yr, so thanks alot but unfortunately she has hit a stumbling block when applying for the grant.

We returned from Austrailia in July last year (2007) and we stayed with her brother who owns a house, lives there himself and doesnt rent. this was up until January when we got our own place.

The council want a letter from the PRTB (private resident tenancy board) or Utility bills in her name to say she was a tenant last October - dunno why last October but thats what they want?? January isnt relevant at all seemingly...

Anyways, her brother never registered her as a tenant with the PRTB as he is exempt as he lives in the house himself but this cuts little ice with the council when applying for the grant. Also, the bills were all in his name

Really, i just wanted to see if there was any alternative (letter from brother, tax correspondence to address etc..) or anything that could be done to bypass this fixation with needing a prtb letter

Advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

Jugs82

Jugs82 wrote: »

Hi,

I have been on here once or twice and have received great advice for my Girlfriend as she is heading back to college this September as a mature student for 1 yr, so thanks alot but unfortunately she has hit a stumbling block when applying for the grant.

We returned from Austrailia in July last year (2007) and we stayed with her brother who owns a house, lives there himself and doesnt rent. this was up until January when we got our own place.

The council want a letter from the PRTB (private resident tenancy board) or Utility bills in her name to say she was a tenant last October - dunno why last October but thats what they want?? January isnt relevant at all seemingly...

Anyways, her brother never registered her as a tenant with the PRTB as he is exempt as he lives in the house himself but this cuts little ice with the council when applying for the grant. Also, the bills were all in his name

Really, i just wanted to see if there was any alternative (letter from brother, tax correspondence to address etc..) or anything that could be done to bypass this fixation with needing a prtb letter

Advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

Hey Jugs82,

I actually thought I had posted up an answer for you, but it seems to have been lost. Ah well... What I had said and will say again is that the reason they are looking for last October is because that's when they look across the board. I assume October is chosen since it's generally a year before the academic year, but it is a small bit arbitrary especially for those going back to education.

On citizensinformation.ie, they mention the following:

independent mature candidates require proof of residency on 1 October of the previous year, such as a utility bill)

It varies from Council to Council. Someone on here a week or two ago mentioned how they got a sworned affadavit from, I think, a peace commissioner to declare that they were independent or something. Really, the best people to talk to would be your Council/VEC (and to check their website in case they specify something there).

But really the more 'proof' she has the better her case is. If there's anything dated from last October with her name on it, sure put it in. But do check everyone over with the Council/VEC prior to her sending of it in.

Hope this helps!

Jugs82

Cheers Myth

We assembled everything from tax documents, car insurance documents, credit card statements, pension statements from work - pretty much all correspondence from Oct 2007 with the address on it..

Fingers crossed - she is heading into the council today

Thanks again