Why is my rent allowance so low?

givenup

Can anyone help? I new am a single parent and after my divorce myself and my 3 older children were left homeless. After nearly 2yrs of begging for rent allowance I finally got it. My question is I have to pay 99.25 per week myself towards rent, Is this right??
I had a mini stroke almost 3yrs ago and though i am ok to go back to work now still finding it hard to get a job now. So I have 297.30 per week (one-parent + maintainence combined) and childbenefit to live on. My rent allowance cheque is 701 per month and rent is 1100 per month. So doing easy maths I have only feeding,clothing,educating, teens and a 11yr old and keeping a home heated and electricity is bloody impossible.
After 17yrs being a mom I just want to give up

jay-me

Hi, sorry to hear about your situation. As far as I know it depends on where you live as the rate is diferent for each duristiction. Best thing to do is look on citizens advice website as it has all the relevnt information. Other than that it doesn't sound right that you live on what a single person would get from the welfare to raise 3 children.

jay-me

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schemes/rent_supplement.html

After looking here it seems none of the qualifying rates are 701pm so that is definitely not right! Also you are entitled to rent allowance after 6 months so you can probably claim back for the 1 and a half years you didn't get it.

givenup

Thank u for your kind reply Jay-me.
The new rent cap for my area is 950 per month. But as my lease was before the reduction I still have to pay the landlord 1100 this is probably why my allowance is so low. Citzens info said even if landlord goes down to 950 i will still have to pay same ammount towards rent as my rent allowance will go down even more to balance out. Basically they say the maintainence i get from my ex-husband gets taken into account, so I pay my 36 per week out of one parent and 60 per week maintaince all goes towards rent.
Its just not right, well and willing to work, want to keep what's left of my family together but financially I can't do it anymore. My children would be better looked after in fostercare at this stage.

givenup

I did get back payment but as I had to rent private on my own for such a long time i owed it all to a credit company who helped me with half rent per month at the time. Desperate time it was for me but i got through only to have less now

jay-me

Would moving to a different place be an option? I can understand the pressure you are under financially and I can see you are getting fed up but there are always options out there to try and relieve the burden.

There are internships or CE schemes that would allow for an extra 50 euro a week and keep you occupied during the day and keep the worries at bay for a while. Also if you contact your local St. Vincents De Paul they have resources to help families in need. I would say right now your best move is to reach out to the right places for support. And try and make do as best you can as I would say there has to be a silver lining on every cloud

MoonDancer

Firstly, if you are finding it hard to cope, you should have a chat with your gp.
As a single mother myself, and unable to work, my ex husband doesn't pay me any maintenance, I understand it can be very difficult at times, but it does get better. You need to reach out for friendly support from your family, friends and your gp.

Would social housing be an option?

Try contacting St Vincent de Paul. They can help you with coal, food vouchers and if you have any bills you have trouble paying they will also help you with that.

Good luck, and don't feel alone. We all go through rough patches like this and believe me, after having gone through it myself it does get better

Feel free to pm me if you want to talk

daltonmd

givenup wrote: »

Can anyone help? I new am a single parent and after my divorce myself and my 3 older children were left homeless. After nearly 2yrs of begging for rent allowance I finally got it. My question is I have to pay 99.25 per week myself towards rent, Is this right??
I had a mini stroke almost 3yrs ago and though i am ok to go back to work now still finding it hard to get a job now. So I have 297.30 per week (one-parent + maintainence combined) and childbenefit to live on. My rent allowance cheque is 701 per month and rent is 1100 per month. So doing easy maths I have only feeding,clothing,educating, teens and a 11yr old and keeping a home heated and electricity is bloody impossible.
After 17yrs being a mom I just want to give up

Your rent allowance is correct, as you must contribute a minimum of 30 euro per week, this monthly total is almost the ceiling in your area - 701 plus your 130pm - ceiling 850pm.


What you are doing is topping up this and I am actually surprised that you were awarded RA with a property that is clearly over the ceiling.

Did the CWO mention this to you at all?

Unfortunately you will either have to negotiate the landlord down or move.

As an aside - do you get full rate OPFP? It seems very low considering that the full rate for a parent with 3 children is 277 pw.