6 acres attached to house affecting benefit?

pathway33 · 28-09-2009 9:06pm #1

Friend will be finished college next year as a mature student. He has been there for 4 years and was self-employed before that. He sold his flat in dublin last year so has enough money to buy/build a small house on 5 or 6 acres down the country when he leaves college in may, without worrying about going to the bank.

He's wondering if he can't get a job, will the 5 or 6 acres be taken into account in a means test as a possible source of income. He's planning to have some animals and crops on it so that he can be as self-sufficient as possible. He knows about farm assist but reckons that despite the fact that there is no minimum acreage requirement, he wouldn't be intensive enough (like with mushroom or pig farming) to qualify as a 'farmer'.

He probably wouldn't qualify for job seeker benefit either. That leaves job seekers allowance or supplementary welfare allowance. He's half thinking about giving grinds from the house. He won't have any savings after buying/building the house.

Q 1. Will his 6 acres be taken into account in a means test?

Q 2. How will doing grinds affect any state benefit? He's not interested in just taking cash for grinds and saying nothing about it. He wants it all up front with the taxman.

Thanks

cee_jay · 28-09-2009 9:30pm

His land will be assessed as means against his Jobseeker's Allowance.

If doing grinds, he will have to sign off for any day when he gives grinds, and any income from same can also be assessed as means.

pathway33 · 28-09-2009 9:42pm

Thanks

So is it the potential income that is taken into account which the land could generate if rented out? This would be about €900 per annum for 6 acres of agricultural land. That's €17 per week

Or would it be based on the resale value of the land which might be €60,000? If he can't sell the land to put food on the table what then?

cee_jay · 28-09-2009 9:47pm

http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/meansassess.aspx#sect1

pathway33 · 28-09-2009 10:00pm

Thanks a million

I see that

Property which is personally used and enjoyed by a person is assessed on the yearly income derived by a person from it. This includes:

a farm of land owned

So that means if my friend has eggs from hens and sells a few pigs and vegetables and he pulls in €1,000 per annum from the 6 acres that he will be deducted €20 from whatever state benefit he may have to claim.

Of course if he is in the farmers market 1 day a week he will not be available for work that day so I suppose he's down there as well

6 acres attached to house affecting benefit?

Comments