JSA in regards rent lease

Torakx

apologies if this has been discussed already i cannot find any thread with the info im after.
i tried the social welfare website but it is so full of acts and laws i still cant find it a solid answer.
i used to live in my friends apartment he rented(spare room) and paid him rent out of my dole.i wasnt on a lease there.i then moved into my girlfriends place(no lease again),then my girlfriend and myself got an apartment and after a month or 2 we split and i am back in my friends place for the last few months.
so i have proof of address from a bank statement for my friends place from as far back as july anyway.
now my jobseekers benifit finished on nov 12th.i was told in the social welfare offfice(during means test) if i am on a lease i can get jobseekers allowance if im not officailly on a lease im not getting it.

so i go to the health board and meet an officer there.
she told me i cant get rent allowance until im on a lease.and i cant get emergency dole equivalent because i have to have a payment incoming from social welfare before the health board will give me any money for food.she said they only support people while they are waiting for dole payments or something similar.anyway no joy there.
also i cant get rent allowance until i am 6months on a lease or so i was lead to believe.
so where i stand now is. i am still living in my friends apartment in the spare room.he is a really good friend and is trying his best to help me out.
we have a small idea to get me on the current lease so i can finnally get my job seekers allowance.

my main question is do i have to be 6months on the lease now to get jobseekers allowance?
if i can get jobseekers allowance maybe i can put most of that towards rent for 6 motnhs then apply for rent allwance from the health board.
ive already been using my dole before mostly for rent in my friends place so it would be back to normal albiet very very poor lol

anyway i really really would appreciate any helpful replies.
any advice or ideas on other things i can do or ways for me to get around all these blockades.
thanks

ps im over 25 years old.

pps. just a side note. the welfare officer said there may be a new law coming in which will mean a single male claiming jsa while sharing a home with another working male will have to count the other working makes income into the means test. he said or it was insinuated it was to do with homosexuals scamming ,but that it would effect me too because of my situation. i would say its to do with the government scamming. but whos going to stop them ^^

Xiney

First of all, you should be able to get jobseeker's allowance whether you have a lease or not once you're over 25 years old.

If you were under 25 years old they'd want proof that you weren't living at home, but in this case a lease should not be relevant. You need only provide them with the details of your income, proof of address and proof of identy and so on. Proof of lease is not one of the requirements.

Second of all, the government is highly unlikely to start taking a same sex room mate's income into account for the purposes of the social welfare means test. I honestly wonder what the individual you were speaking to was at.

I say you should go back and speak to someone else since this person was giving you false information. This time bring a pen & paper and write stuff down as they say it, and ask for their name. They tend to give you true information when they know you know who they are.

Torakx

thanks for clarifying that. i was very shocked when he said it at the time.
i guess i shouldnt be so naive when it comes to dealing with a government that does not want me to have anytrhing at all.

thanks again.