Can I reduce how much I put towards my rent allowence?

LegacyUser

hi all, i live alone, on jobseekeers and am on rent allowence and contribute 110 to my rent of 525. I am finding it very hard to make ends meet with the cost of electricity and fuel this winter, and have no savings left. Just wondering is it possible for me to reduce the amount i am paying towards me rent allowence? every little bit will help right now

The Lovely Muffin

Go and speak to your community welfare officer ASAP do not 'just stop' paying either part or all the €110 without speaking to your CWO.

If you can - bring with you some/all of your most recent utility bills so the CWO can see how much it's costing you and can see that you are finding it difficult to manage.

maryk123

it doesnt work like that - you are given a rent cap and if you are within it then you are granted rent but if you are over it the rent may stop. also if you stop paying the the cwo finds out the rent could be stopped. remember also the minimum contribution is going up from 26 to 30 in the new year which means you will be adding more money.

if you want to go to the cwo and tell them your storey by all means do but i suggest you look for cheaper accommodation.

snubbleste

The OP is contributing the minimum required for rent supplement which is €26/week or €112.67/month, so looking for cheaper accomodation won't help in this scenario.

maryk123

sorry about that i misread the original post.

the minimum contribution is 26 euro going up to 30 euro so i dont know how they will contribute less.

brembo26

Hi all! Sorry for going slightly off topic and hi-jacking a bit but I didn't think my question requires a new thread.

Just wondering does anyone know my cap for renting. I'm 20 years old and ill be renting in Galway City. I remember I was told nearly 2 years ago it was €264 p/m which works out at €66 p/w but could have changed since then. Would I be right in thinking if that is still the cap I could get a maximum of €36 p/w towards my rent?

I'm on BTEA at the moment and getting €188.00 p/w but when the end of may comes and I havnt managed to get a job ill be back down to €100 p/w.

Thanks in advance!

tenchi-fan

totallybroke wrote: »

hi all, i live alone, on jobseekeers and am on rent allowence and contribute 110 to my rent of 525. I am finding it very hard to make ends meet with the cost of electricity and fuel this winter, and have no savings left. Just wondering is it possible for me to reduce the amount i am paying towards me rent allowence? every little bit will help right now

You should ask to switch to shared accommodation instead.
You will not receive as much rent supplement, but at least you would be sharing bills such as electricity, fuel, heating, etc.
Hope this helps

snubbleste

brembo26 wrote: »

Hi all! Sorry for going slightly off topic and hi-jacking a bit but I didn't think my question requires a new thread.
Just wondering does anyone know my cap for renting. I'm 20 years old and ill be renting in Galway City. I remember I was told nearly 2 years ago it was €264 p/m which works out at €66 p/w but could have changed since then. Would I be right in thinking if that is still the cap I could get a maximum of €36 p/w towards my rent?
I'm on BTEA at the moment and getting €188.00 p/w but when the end of may comes and I havnt managed to get a job ill be back down to €100 p/w.
Thanks in advance!

You can check the maximum rates yourself at citizensinformation.ie
Rent supplement is a means tested payment and you'll have to contribute a minimum of €30 per week from January.

Graces7

totallybroke wrote: »

hi all, i live alone, on jobseekeers and am on rent allowence and contribute 110 to my rent of 525. I am finding it very hard to make ends meet with the cost of electricity and fuel this winter, and have no savings left. Just wondering is it possible for me to reduce the amount i am paying towards me rent allowence? every little bit will help right now

Are you eligible for/getting the Solid Fuel and Household Benefits package? You don't mention it?

See Citizens info web site for details.

That will help greatly.