Rent Allowance

yomamma

Hi,

I am looking to move out to rent. I am currently on job seekers allowance. I know feck all about social welfare Can someone tell me if I am entitled to rent allowance aswell as my job seekers allowance?

Thanks

Jarren

Getting Rent Supplement
Rent Supplement will only be provided if the accommodation is suitable for your needs and the rent is below the maximum rent level set for your county.

You may get Rent Supplement if you have been living for 6 months (183 days) out of the last 12 months in one, or a combination, of the following:

Accommodation for homeless people.
Private rented accommodation. You can combine time living in more than one rented accommodation to satisfy the 6 months (183 days). You must be able to show that you could afford the rent at the beginning of your tenancy and that you could have continued to pay rent but are unable to do so because of a change in your circumstances which occurred after you started renting.
An institution, for example, a hospital, care home or place of detention.
Or

Have been assessed by a local authority as being eligible for and in need of social housing in the last 12 months. If you don't have a housing need assessment, you must go to the local authority to have your housing need assessed. The local authority must be in the area that you intend to live and claim Rent Supplement. Only when you are assessed as eligible for and in need of housing can you apply for Rent Supplement. Rent Supplement is not payable while the local authority is carrying out a housing needs assessment.
You must also:

Pass a habitual residence test
Pass a means test
You won’t qualify for Rent Supplement if you:

Are in full-time employment (30 hours or more a week). However, if you are assessed as in need of housing under the Rental Accommodation Scheme and have been out of full-time employment for 12 months or more you may be entitled to the Supplement - see ‘Employment and Rent Supplement’ below
Have refused a second offer of local authority accommodation in an 12-month period. In this case, you cannot claim Rent Supplement for 12 months.
Are leaving local authority housing without reasonable cause.
Have been excluded from social housing by a local authority for reasons of good estate management or anti-social behaviour.
Are attending full-time education. However, if you are getting a Back to Education Allowance or participating in the Back to Education Programme you may be entitled to the Supplement.
Renting from a parent: You cannot get Rent Supplement to help you pay rent to your parent if you are living in the family home. If your parent owns a second property, you will generally not get Rent Supplement to rent this property from them unless it is a bona fide tenancy and you are assessed as having a housing need. Your parent must also be able to prove that they have a history of renting this property.

Employment and Rent Supplement
You will not qualify for Rent Supplement if you are in full-time employment (30 hours per week or more). (In the case of couples, if one of a couple is in full time employment, both are excluded from claiming Rent Supplement).

Since June 2007, if you have been accepted as being in need of accommodation under the Rental Accommodation Scheme by your local authority and you have been unemployed or not in full-time employment for at least 12 months before you start work you may be able to keep your Rent Supplement. You may also be entitled to retain Rent Supplement if you have been participating in a Community Employment Scheme, Area Allowance Enterprise Scheme, or getting Back to Work Allowance immediately before you start work.

However, you will be reassessed for Rent Supplement and some of your additional income including some of your income from employment will be taken into account. As a result of the reassessment you may or may not continue to qualify for Rent Supplement. If you do qualify for Rent Supplement you may get a different rate of Supplement.

http://www.welfare.ie/en/schemes/supplementarywelfareallowance/pages/rentsupplement.aspx#Rules2