Council Housing

shubj

Hi all,

I am currently in private rented accomodation in a 4 bedroom house and receiving rent supplement and job seekers allowance. I live with my baby. Myself and my partner have just split after 4 years and he moved out a couple of days ago. I need to get everything sorted out money wise and need some advice. I have just looked at the rent allowance maximum rates for each county and for our county it is set at 400 per month whereas our rent is 475 so firstly I don't understand why this wasn't an issue as it exceeds the maximum and we had a rent review a month or so ago and nothing was said.
Secondly I am terrified when I tell them that my partner has moved out that they will stop paying the rent supplement as it is a 4 bedroom house and obviously now there are only 2 of us and because of it exceeding the maximum, which is actually the same rate for 1 parent and 1 child as a couple with 1 child.
Thirdly I will have to apply for council housing which I have found the forms are online for download but I am very nervous about living in council housing as I am currently in a beautiful house in a very quiet, safe area. I was thinking of applying to Wexford County Council for housing down there which is a long way from here but if I have to move I want to go far so as to get a fresh start. Does anyone know is there any new built council houses down there or know anything about a nice area? I want my daughter to grow up somewhere nice and I am hoping to settle in my next house so she can make friends and grow up in that house.

Thank you for reading. Apologies for the essay!

D3PO

shubj wrote: »

I am terrified when I tell them that my partner has moved out that they will stop paying the rent supplement as it is a 4 bedroom house and obviously now there are only 2 of us !

and so you should be. I hope they find out and take action on it. The country is on its knees and people like you are taking the piss out of the social welfare system.

what you want in terms of housing and what you should be entitled too are two different things. once it is in a habitable condition you should be grateful of any 2 bed. if you want more try and better yourself by finding a job.

foxy06

Really think some posters are just having a laugh. WHY would you need a 4 bed house? I'd love to live in nice posh estate with 2 spare rooms and rent paid for me but sadly I must live in one of those council estates that you seem to be too good for and pay 3 times the rent of some other piss taking poster that earns way more than my house.

Be happy with what you have cos you won't have it for long.

Think I'll go start one of those 'better off on the dole' threads......

ceadaoin.

shubj wrote: »

Hi all,

Secondly I am terrified when I tell them that my partner has moved out that they will stop paying the rent supplement as it is a 4 bedroom house and obviously now there are only 2 of us and because of it exceeding the maximum, which is actually the same rate for 1 parent and 1 child as a couple with 1 child.

First of all I am sorry that you are going through a tough time. But sorry, I have to say a 4 bedroom house for a couple and a baby is ridiculous, even more so for just you and a baby!

A 2 bed is all you need. I'm sure you could find one that falls well below the limit if a 4 bed is only 475. Just becaise they pay up to 400 doesn't mean you have to find the most expensive place possible just to milk it!

shubj

I think you are all taking this wrong. I am going down to tell them when it is the day for Community Welfare Officer to be there and I am in no way milking it. There are lots of empty 4 bedroom houses round here and I have looked everywhere for 2 bed but I can't find any in an area I can live in. I have trouble with certain people and cannot live by them for my own safety. That is why I said about a council house in a different area and yes I used to work full time for years until my employer had to let people go and since then I have had a baby who is only a couple of months old and there is no way I could leave her right now.

Thanks for all the judgmental comments by the way.

shubj

Also the rent used to fall below the limit as I had negotiated the rent down a lot with the landlord before I moved in, when I was working may I add for all you judgmental people.

Forgive me for wanting my daughter to grow up somewhere safe and friendly so that hopefully she doesn't end up in my situation when she is older. I fully intend to work and pay my own way when she is old enough to leave with a minder.

I thought social welfare was there to help people like me that find themselves in these situations. I didn't expect everyone to jump down my throat! Also when I mentioned council housing I would just like to know is there any areas that aren't too rough. If you live somewhere like that and are happy and can handle it that's fine but I could not and do not want that for my daughter.

Moonbeam

I think then you need to go out and get yourself a job so that you can give your daughter the present and future that you would like for her.
Many mothers return to work when their babies are 6 months old because financially they simply have no choice.

I am not judging you but you seem to want the best of both worlds without being prepared to work for it.
Welfare is their for those that need it and by suddenly becoming a single mum you have more entitlements then you did when you were not single. Which is a good thing because you need it now more then ever.
If you get low wages you might be entitled to fis,rent allowance,medical card ,subsidised creche and an extra tax allowance and possibly more.

Oh_Noes

I thought this forum was for advice, not making personal attacks and judgements on the OP.

She's obviously posting because she's unsure of her situation and wants advice to find out what her best options are to raise her daughter as well as she can, and in return gets insulted and attacked by people because they have a problem with the welfare system.

Shouldn't this forum just be used for actual advice rather than people taking swipes at each other over employment/unemployment?

Sir Oxman

Oh_Noes wrote: »

I thought this forum was for advice, not making personal attacks and judgements on the OP.

She's obviously posting because she's unsure of her situation and wants advice to find out what her best options are to raise her daughter as well as she can, and in return gets insulted and attacked by people because they have a problem with the welfare system.

Shouldn't this forum just be used for actual advice rather than people taking swipes at each other over employment/unemployment?

I agree.

The OP has explained how she came to be accepted for a 4bed house and how she had looked for a 2 bed.
The fact she was approved for a 4 bed is down to the CWO who has a lot of leeway in interpreting the application.
I've also heard of applications being accpeted if the rent is over the limit in certain circumstances so I think OPs should be taken at face value and advice offered if it can.
The fact she's also willing to move far from where she lives to a council house would suggest she is indeed fearful of who she'd land beside in her own town.

Sorry OP, no advice as such from me but have you tried the usual citizens advice site, welfare.ie and Wexford county council sites?
You can see the areas where they have stock and google a few forums and daft etc to get a feel for the places available.

Maybe this should be moved to State Benefits forum, there's less muppetry over there.
HTH

The_Conductor

OP- I apologise for the hostile response of many of the posters- however your opening post- along with other posts you've made, may have coloured some people's views of what you were querying.

1. Your partner is supposed to be providing towards his child- irrespective of the fact that you have subsequently split up. This maintenance would be paid on a means basis, and if your ex is in receipt of social welfare benefits, could be deducted directly from these.

2. Part of sorting out your finances has to include a maintenance agreement between you and he towards the upkeep of your child.

3. If you are in private accommodation- you are entitled to an annual rent review- this is what happened some weeks ago. There is a small amount of leeway in interpreting the maximum allowable under RA and RS schemes, however in the current era of non-existent budgets- you cannot assume this will continue to apply. You need to look at worst case scenarios- and budget on this basis- not the current situation, where you are getting an overpayment on the council max.

4. The council will not stop paying your rent supplement because your partner has moved out. There will however be an expectation that a maintenance agreement will be put in place, and a contribution towards your income will be made by your ex. Continued payment of rent supplement will however be subject to-

a. You have been in private rented accommodation for over 6 months in the past 12 months
b. You were capable of paying the rent of your means at the commencement of the tenancy
c. Your circumstances subsequently changed- and you are no longer capable of paying the rent in full of your own accord

or

d. You have a current valid assessment (aka one carried out in the last 12 calendar months) which determined that you were entitled to social housing, but none was available at the time. (Note: this assessment can only be in the area in which you intend to live). Note- if you have not had this assessment- you will have to undergo it- and RS is automatically discontinued for the duration of the assessment.

In addition to the above- you have to pass the standard means test, and satisfy the country of habitual residence rules.

Automatic disqualifiers for RS include:

1. You turn down a second offer of housing in the appropriate council area in a 12 month period
2. You leave housing provided by a local authority or council without just cause (just cause to be decided by the local housing officer, in conjunction with the local CWO)
3. You enter full time employment or education (there are exemptions to both of these categories)

Your maximum eligibility for RS is identical as a single parent, to what it would be as a couple with a child (you've indicated that the current max is €400 per month- this will not change- though you will now be paying the contributory €24 yourself on your own).

The rent supplement scheme is described in detail here

Ps- if you do plan on moving- there would be a different maximum allowance associated in different counties- aka Wexford is €600 per month- however it would be highly likely that this reflects the vastly higher costs of renting accommodation in the Wexford area (the €400 limit would apply in an area where there are vast numbers of vacant properties and landlords can be expected to take whatever they can get- the €400 limit on the map covers Longford, parts of Cavan, Leitrim, and back down covering parts of Roscommon- with guidelines for CWOs being a lot stricter for certain areas (such as Longford town- and less strict for Carrick (though most of the accommodation there would be apartments, rather than houses).

I don't know whether its a good idea to mention to 2 large dogs to a CWO as justification for somewhere with a garden to be honest with you- play it by ear.

I've moved this thread to the State Benefits forum (I hope you don't mind mods?) as I feel you'll get better information (and probably less judgemental responses) in this forum.

Regards,

SMcCarrick

Sir Oxman

Have to say very helpful post for the OP, SMCCarrick.

ricman

I know a woman, 1 child spent 7 years on rent allowance in a large house,
1000 euro per month, a year ago she got a brand new 2bed apartment in a new building ,owned by a housing charity.Shes very happy where she is now.its a safe area,90 per cent private housing .
Basically the council told her she s unlikely to get a house ,she has 1kid ,rule in dublin you need 2 children to get a house from the council in dublin.
look on your local council s website ,theres info re no of houses ,units avaidable.You can get advice from centrecare or threshold.
www.threshold.ie
the no of houses being built by councils is tiny, and 1000 s have been sold off to former tenants, i have never heard of a person with 1 child getting a council house.
In your area theres probably little difference in the rent being charged for a 4bed house vs a 2bed ,i doubt if the welfare officer will ask you to move out to save 40 euro per month.
i think you are allowed to earn 150 a week ,while still getting sw payments.
As pointed out on joe duffy show last year,for many single mothers its uneconomical for many of them to work full time as they lose medical card,rent allowance etc
and they have to pay for child care etc
This woman i know was waiting 7 years to get any offers from the council , she was offered an apartment and she took it.

The_Conductor

ricman wrote: »

I know a woman, 1 child spent 7 years on rent allowance in a large house,
1000 euro per month, a year ago she got a brand new 2bed apartment in a new building ,owned by a housing charity.

Hi Ricman- just to clarify, the Rent Supplement and Rent Allowance schemes work in very different ways, and have different rules governing them. The OP has stated she is in receipt of rent-supplement, not rent-allowance.

Reegards,

SMcCarrick

donalg1

If you have been in receipt of Rent Allowance for 18months chances are you will be contacted by the Council about the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS), this is aimed at getting people off of Rent Allowance.

The Council will contact your current Landlord and ask them if they are interested in signing up to the scheme, they will then assess the property and make him an offer based on its size and condition, however given that its a four bed property and there is only the two of you the offer is unlikely to suit the Landlord. You would be better off looking for a two bed yourself and asking that Landlord if they would be interested in RAS, if so pass their details to the RAS dept in the Council and they can then discuss it with the Landlord.

If you are a RAS tenant you will then be paying a differential rent, which is what you would be paying if you were a Social Housing Tenant, so the same rent but in a property you choose.

If you dont find a property the Council may have a list of properties which they will house you in, and if you were to refuse an offer from the Council and not find one yourself your Rent Allowance would be ceased.

Plus it is unlikely your application for Social Housing wouldbe accepted in Wexford anyway, new guidelines stipulate an application must be made in the County you currently reside, if you wish to apply to another county you must have a reason for doing so, i.e. all your family are there, your child needs special care and the other county is the only place to get it.

Even if you did somehow manage to get your name on a council list in Wexford you can't pick and choose where you live, you would be offered a house probably after 5 years or so!!! and then you would have to accept it regardless of where it is, 2 refusals now and you are off the list permanently.