can some help

zarya

myself and partner are in a council house with 3 children
we are both unemployed at the moment
our rent went from 76 euro a week to 147 euro a week
we are now in arrears.
we are thinking about givin up our house and going back to private rent.

could someone tell me if we can claim rent allowance for a private house with rent arrears (even tho its getting paid)
and how long would we have to wait till we can claim rent allowance once giving up a council house

Spear

Moved from N&F.

January

I don't think you can claim rent allowance if you voluntarily give up a council house, not for a couple of years anyway...

Go to the council offices and discuss your arrears, they should be helpful with helping you clear them...

danois

Go talk to the council explain your situation. You have to be on housinglist to get rent allowance you are not allowed be on housing list if you give up a council house.

Delancey

As others have said OP - by giving up a council house you may very well be out of the frying pan into the fire..... do NOT give up the council house at this point.

mlumley

Go talk to council. Rent should be based on income.

Balagan

zarya wrote: »

myself and partner are in a council house with 3 children
we are both unemployed at the moment
our rent went from 76 euro a week to 147 euro a week
we are now in arrears.
we are thinking about givin up our house and going back to private rent.

could someone tell me if we can claim rent allowance for a private house with rent arrears (even tho its getting paid)
and how long would we have to wait till we can claim rent allowance once giving up a council house

Your rent increased a lot. You should query it in detail with the Council. You need to make sure, if you are both claiming and in a council house, that you are claiming separately with both signing on individually. If one of you is getting the payment in their name for both of you then the Council will take that combined amount as if it were the income of the highest earner and charge a percentage of that amount. If you separate your payments, they will charge a percentage of the highest income and a fixed rate for any other payment coming into the house. It makes a significant difference in rental payments. If this is indeed what has happened you should make the change at the SW office as soon as possible and appeal the arrears with the Council.

zarya

thanks all for replys
we have spoken to council and they have not been helpful at all
and the house is in an awful state
bath is not very nice. toilet is not secure windows not open
and they took the 6ft fence away before we moved in which was to be replaced by them as we 3 very young children
yet they still havent done anything even tho we have been on at them,

just wonder if its worth going to my local TD and get him on the case?

zarya

would we get on a council list if we moved diff countys due to health problems?

January

zarya wrote: »

would we get on a council list if we moved diff countys due to health problems?

No, if you give up a council house you're pretty much up the creek without a paddle.

Contact your local TD.

DeeRMcC

zarya wrote: »

thanks all for replys
we have spoken to council and they have not been helpful at all
and the house is in an awful state
bath is not very nice. toilet is not secure windows not open
and they took the 6ft fence away before we moved in which was to be replaced by them as we 3 very young children
yet they still havent done anything even tho we have been on at them,

just wonder if its worth going to my local TD and get him on the case?

I wouldnt be giving up the Council House - it may cause more hassle than its worth in the long run.

I would certainly get onto the Local TD. I would also write a letter and keep a copy of it and register it to the local authority stating your grievance ie, state of house - walls - fence etc. Tell them that at the moment you can only afford so much per week. Once you put it in writing they have a legal duty to reply to you - once you receive a reply then you can re assess the situation. Get your TD to write a letter to the Council also on your behalf. I know some TDs arent worth a hope in hell but there is an odd one out there that will actually do something to help you ! Have you gone down to the Health Centre to ask the relieving officer to help you with your arrears, they only do it in certain circumstances but its worth a shot !!

upinthesky

op there is definitely something wrong with your rent 147 euro is waaaay to much for unemployed people

does the rent include arrears? my rent was assessed at 55 euro per week and we have 3 children when my partner was unemployed
he is now working and are rent is not the expensive

i would write a letter to the council saying you will pay 5 euro extra of your arrears a week for now that its all you can afford until you get work I'm sure if you went to court the judge would go in your favour as long as you pay something you should be ok