Rent Allowance Question

Sunshineboo

I recently decided to move out of the family home, I live in the countryside so I want to move into town (in Laois) So that I have a better chance of finding job/doing volunteer work.

I'm currently getting 144 on Social Welfare, I'm just really confused about Rent Allowance, there's a place I want to rent which is 400 a month, how much would I have to pay with rent allowance a week?? Thanks for any replies very confused!

Kerry3333

Ok well first of all there are Maximum Rent Levels for each county and if you go over that you will get nothing!
Luckily (if you are moving in to an apartment on your own) you are under the max by €7 ha.

Secondly, they are very strict about Rent Allowance these days. You should go into your Local Community Welfare Officer and tell her/him your story, she/he will tell you that you have to be assessed by the local authority (if you have already been assesed by local authority and they decided that you have a housing need and you are already on the council list then great you will be entitled to Rent Allowance)

If this does not work out there is an alternative:

You must be in Private Rented Accomodation for at least 6 months out of the last 12 months AND you must be able to show that you could afford the Rent at the start of the Tenacy and due to a change in your circumstances are no longer able to afford your Rent.

And also it is my understanding for a single person, if you are accepted for Rent Allowance, you will contribute €26 of your own money for the Rent and the rest you will get from Rent Allowance.

Balagan

Sunshineboo wrote: »

I recently decided to move out of the family home, I live in the countryside so I want to move into town (in Laois) So that I have a better chance of finding job/doing volunteer work.

I'm currently getting 144 on Social Welfare, I'm just really confused about Rent Allowance, there's a place I want to rent which is 400 a month, how much would I have to pay with rent allowance a week?? Thanks for any replies very confused!

Details about Rent Supplement here http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schemes/rent_supplement.html

Where to find the Community Welfare Officer for your area http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/Find_a_Service/LHO/

Sunshineboo

So I'm not really entitled to anything until I rent by myself first?

Kerry3333

Not really unless you have already been assesed by the local authority.

BahSheep

Basically.. You have to rent a house for 6 months, lose your job... then either the same or a different house (depending on wheter the people renting the house to you will accept rent allowance) you want to rent.. so basically anyone still living at home who hasn't rented yet and doesn't have a job is just ****ED!

meoklmrk91

Option 1: Try and get on your local authority housing list, they will come out and assess your current living situation and see if you meet the criteria to get on the list, once you are on the list it will make getting rent allowance a lot easier. Overcrowding in the family home, sharing bedrooms etc. will stand to you, not an easy thing to get on the housing list though and you will be waiting a while to be assessed.

Option 2: Get a place that you can afford to rent for 6 months and then apply for RA.

Option 3: Pop a sprog:rolleyes:

Sir Oxman

Seeing as you would be barely under the rent limit for your area, keep in mind RA is likely to be hit in the budget and maybe the limit for your area could come down enough to exclude you from RA.
Just keep it in mind.

Jesus Shaves

A lot of what has been posted in here is obviously by people who have never gone through the process so ignore

Go to the council, get on the housing list(they won't come out and inspect your house) To get on the housing list you will need birth cert, passport photo( go in and get a housing list form off them first)
Find a landlord who is willing to accept rent allowance, get him to sign the rent allowance forms, bring signed forms into your local cwo where you should explain why you need to move out(overcrowding, family dispute, etc.

You will receive the rent allowance within a week paid into the post office weekly, you will have to put at least €35 to your rent allowance to make the rent

snubbleste

The Council do send someone out to inspect the premises at which you reside. They are obligated to undertake this step.
There is no guarantee that someone moving out of their parents' home will be viewed as having a housing need by the local authority.

Jesus Shaves

snubbleste wrote: »

The Council do send someone out to inspect the premises at which you reside. They are obligated to undertake this step.
There is no guarantee that someone moving out of their parents' home will be viewed as having a housing need by the local authority.

They say they do but the don't really,i know this from experience, if you know what to say it's very easy to get rent allowance

Kerry3333

Actually Darokane the information is correct. You are wrong.
I am actually going through this process myself right now so i know all about it.

All the Information I posted up on here is correct Sunshineboo.
When you apply to the council you will be called for an assessment approximately three weeks after the date you applied (could be longer.)
They will ask you to go into the council and have a meeting with one of the staff OR they will call out to your house to assess you.

If they believe you have a housing need you will get the letter off them and go into your local CWO and she will have the Rent Allowance in the Post Office for you the following week.

But the council are very strict and it is very hard to be assessed as having a housing need, unless you are homeless or a single mother etc.

But everything I wrote is true. I would go into the local CWO first though and explain your story they seem to be a bit more understanding than the council.

If you know anyone who works in the council you could get them to help you.

Jesus Shaves

CWO wont give rent allowance unless you're on the council list, as i said i've gone through the same myself, suppose different councils take different approaches

My advice would be to keep hounding them

Sir Oxman

darokane wrote: »

CWO wont give rent allowance unless you're on the council list, as i said i've gone through the same myself, suppose different councils take different approaches

My advice would be to keep hounding them

Again, you are wrong.

Sir Oxman

darokane wrote: »

A lot of what has been posted in here is obviously by people who have never gone through the process so ignore

Go to the council, get on the housing list(they won't come out and inspect your house) To get on the housing list you will need birth cert, passport photo( go in and get a housing list form off them first)
Find a landlord who is willing to accept rent allowance, get him to sign the rent allowance forms, bring signed forms into your local cwo where you should explain why you need to move out(overcrowding, family dispute, etc.

You will receive the rent allowance within a week paid into the post office weekly, you will have to put at least €35 to your rent allowance to make the rent

Wrong! So much wrong or incomplete.

Jesus Shaves

gambiaman wrote: »

Wrong! So much wrong or incomplete.

So i've gone through this experince and i am wrong whereas you are probably a regular on the citizens information site

Jesus Shaves

gambiaman wrote: »

Again, you are wrong.

Funny how this information came from a CWO officer

Jesus Shaves

Sunshineboo wrote: »

I recently decided to move out of the family home, I live in the countryside so I want to move into town (in Laois) So that I have a better chance of finding job/doing volunteer work.

I'm currently getting 144 on Social Welfare, I'm just really confused about Rent Allowance, there's a place I want to rent which is 400 a month, how much would I have to pay with rent allowance a week?? Thanks for any replies very confused!

Let us know how you get on, Personally i can't read this thread anymore because of all the bad advice, i've been through this recently

Good luck

jeckle

Instead of arguing about who's right & who's wrong it's probably simpler to read the facts. By the way, it's Rent Supplement

http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Topics/Budget/bud09_apr/Pages/RentChangesJune09.aspx

Yawns

A lot of people have gone through the experience and you told them they are wrong. You do not have to be on the council list before hand in 100% of cases. There can be exceptions. But 9/10 you need to be assessed by council as in need of housing.

To be assessed as in need of housing does not normally include wanting to move out of the parents home. Other alternatives is you were renting for 6 months, lost your job and now need RA. The CWO will give you forms and you must still go put your name on the council list.

Somebody will come out to visit in 9.9/10 cases. Darokane being the 0.1 case where they didn't. They either come out to visit or call you in to them. When they come out, they just sit down and hash out the same questions on a form themselves. Nothing to worry about if you genuinely need RA.

If you want to get on the council list you will need to tell them that the house is overcrowded or some such. They investigate this too so if it's just you, your 2 parents and 1 sibling in a 4 bedroom house, forget about it. Also you won't have to put €35 to your rent, it's anywhere between €26 - €36. Darokane must have to put 35 cos he told his cwo she was wrong too . It's up to each CWO how much you pay with a minimum and maximum amount already predefined.

As others have said, there's a set limit for each county along with the CWO for each area able to assign a lower max limit for the local area but generally they go with the set county limit. Keep an eye on this as others have said the RA is likely to be cut in the budget so if your rent falls above the max limit you won't be entitled to anything. You can't make the extra up yourself and get the RA for the amount below the limit. The entire rent including you weekly contribution must be at or under the max limit.

If in doubt pop into a citizens information place as they will have most forms and they deal with giving people advice like this on a daily basis. Good luck.

Sir Oxman

darokane wrote: »

So i've gone through this experince and i am wrong whereas you are probably a regular on the citizens information site

No, I've gone through it.

darokane wrote: »

Funny how this information came from a CWO officer

So did mine.

darokane wrote: »

Let us know how you get on, Personally i can't read this thread anymore because of all the bad advice, i've been through this recently

Good luck

Good because your advice is your experience only and not what the OP may face. Instead of stating it as fact, eg 35e pw min contribution (it isn't) you're putting the OP on the wrong road.

Jesus Shaves

gambiaman wrote: »

you're putting the OP on the wrong road.

you all are

mp22

Now lads and lassies play nice please,OP the only way to know for sure is to go to your local council and apply for housing,then off down to the CWO and apply for rent allowance.

cee_jay

Also, in addition to what mp22 has said, everyone's circumstances are different. What John in Dublin experiences might be different to what Mary in Cork faces when she goes to her CWO.
This forum is nothing official from any government Department - people give their different experiences, and give people the official party line from the likes of www.welfare.ie and www.citizensinformation.ie.
As mp22 said, the only way to know for sure is to go to your CWO.

mrsbyrne

darokane wrote: »

A lot of what has been posted in here is obviously by people who have never gone through the process so ignore

Go to the council, get on the housing list(they won't come out and inspect your house) To get on the housing list you will need birth cert, passport photo( go in and get a housing list form off them first)
Find a landlord who is willing to accept rent allowance, get him to sign the rent allowance forms, bring signed forms into your local cwo where you should explain why you need to move out(overcrowding, family dispute, etc.

You will receive the rent allowance within a week paid into the post office weekly, you will have to put at least €35 to your rent allowance to make the rent

most of this is rubbish and im reporting the post to mods as i think the poster is either a troll or just a wum:(

Jesus Shaves

mrsbyrne wrote: »

most of this is rubbish and im reporting the post to mods as i think the poster is either a troll or just a wum:(

like i said i am speaking from experience, actually i apologise, the €35 part at the end was an estimate, it's not usually over this, thank you for reading

Balagan

Your contribution to rent (Household Contribution)Once the Community Welfare Officer has calculated the amount of Rent Supplement you qualify for, it will be reduced by €24. This is because you must pay at least €24 towards your rent. You may pay more than €24 because you are also required to contribute any additional assessable means that you have above the appropriate basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance rate towards your rent.

A couple over 65 with an income equal to or less than the State Pension (Contributory) for their situation will only contribute €24 towards their rent. A couple who both have State Pensions (Contributory) and no other income will also only contribute €24 towards their rent.
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/SupplementaryWelfareAllowance/Pages/RentSupplement.aspx

ShaShaBear

As part of Dundalk's scheme, I had to be assessed for a housing need by the town council, my flat WAS inspected as is customary in my area, I had to apply for rent allowance, with letters to prove I was on the housing list AND living in rented accomodation for the past 6 months. I then had ANOTHER inspection of my flat by my CWO, and my rent allowance goes into my PO weekly. My weekly contribution is the minimum of €26 for this area. There is no point in saying a town council officer will not call out, because it is perfectly within their rights to do so, and unannounced at that. Better to know all of the possible paths than to assume you will only tread one.

Jesus Shaves

ShaShaBear wrote: »

As part of Dundalk's scheme, I had to be assessed for a housing need by the town council, my flat WAS inspected as is customary in my area, I had to apply for rent allowance, with letters to prove I was on the housing list AND living in rented accomodation for the past 6 months. I then had ANOTHER inspection of my flat by my CWO, and my rent allowance goes into my PO weekly. My weekly contribution is the minimum of €26 for this area. There is no point in saying a town council officer will not call out, because it is perfectly within their rights to do so, and unannounced at that. Better to know all of the possible paths than to assume you will only tread one.

Best answer yet, No one is really wrong here but some of the posters are extremely uptight and need to relax and realise that they are not always right

Yawns

Like yourself you mean. :P

Daro no offense but you started a lot of the debate when in your first post you rubbished everyone's advice and then gave information from only your own experience as fact for all cases.

Anyways I think the thread topic has been covered enough and OP should go and speak to CWO to find out matters for themselves at this stage for further information and see if he is eligible for RA/RS

Jesus Shaves

Yawns wrote: »

Like yourself you mean. :P

But i am!

mp22

Perhaps the OP will let us know how they get on,in the meanwhile :-Thread Closed.