Rent allowance question

aislingor

Hi
I am applying for rent allowance, in dublin so the max rent is 900 for myself, partner and 2 kids.
Does this mean 900 is the most we can pay for a house or that the max we will get towards the rent?
Thanks

green123

aislingor wrote: »

Hi
I am applying for rent allowance, in dublin so the max rent is 900 for myself, partner and 2 kids.
Does this mean 900 is the most we can pay for a house or that the max we will get towards the rent?
Thanks

900 is the most that the landlord can get.
i think that you only pay a maximum of € 30 per week and the social welfare pay the rest.
if the landlord wants more than 900 then you will be refused rent allowance.
of course some people pay the landlord a little extra without telling the social welfare to get around this maximum limit

aislingor

green123 wrote: »

aislingor wrote: »

Hi
I am applying for rent allowance, in dublin so the max rent is 900 for myself, partner and 2 kids.
Does this mean 900 is the most we can pay for a house or that the max we will get towards the rent?
Thanks

900 is the most that the landlord can get.
i think that you only pay a maximum of € 30 per week and the social welfare pay the rest.
if the landlord wants more than 900 then you will be refused rent allowance.
of course some people pay the landlord a little extra without telling the social welfare to get around this maximum limit

Great, thanks very much for your help

Yawns

No the max for couple to may each week is around the €60 mark. The minimum contribution that a couple must pay each week towards their rent is €35. So you can contribute anywhere between €35 - €60 each week.

green123

Yawns wrote: »

No the max for couple to may each week is around the €60 mark. The minimum contribution that a couple must pay each week towards their rent is €35. So you can contribute anywhere between €35 - €60 each week.

no.
the max a couple pay is 35.

a couple gets one payment of about 310 per week and they pay just 35 for rent, leaving them with 275 euro per week after paying for accommodation which is more than a lot of people who are working and paying their own rent or mortgage.

it is rent allowance which makes a lot of people better off on the dole than working - 44 % according to the report which was pulled

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

Yawns

green123 wrote: »

no.
the max a couple pay is 35.

Wrong. It's at least €35. I know. I am currently paying more while in receipt of RA and living with my partner with a child.

quote from the site you yourself linked:

Step 4: Find your contribution to your rent

Find the total amount you must pay towards your rent. To do this, add your weekly assessable income (this is the total figure after Step 3) and your minimum Household Contribution. You will always pay at least €30 towards your rent. From January 2012 couples pay €35 towards their rent.

Also another quote from the main rent allowance information page on same site here:

The amount of Rent Supplement will be calculated and will generally ensure that your income, after paying rent, does not fall below a minimum level. This level is the basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance rate for your circumstances (€186 for a single person and €310.80 for a couple) minus €30 (or €35 for a couple). You must always pay at least €30 towards your rent. However, you may pay more depending on your means - see 'Rules' above.

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


EDIT:

This also near beginning of above page:

Changes in 2012

It was announced in Budget 2012 that the minimum contribution towards rent would increase. From 1 January 2012 the minimum contribution by single tenants is €30 (an increase of €6 per week). Couples pay a minimum of €35 per week.

green123

yourself or your partner must be working or have other means.

if neither of the couple are working and neither have means then you pay just 35 like i said and like the website says

wmpdd3

A friend is on disability with no other means and she has to pay €45 for herself and 2 kids under 5.

green123

wmpdd3 wrote: »

A friend is on disability with no other means and she has to pay €45 for herself and 2 kids under 5.

"You must always pay at least €30 towards your rent. However, you may pay more depending on your means"

"You may pay more than €30 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. If you are one of a couple and are claiming Rent Supplement you must pay at least €35 towards your rent."

the above 2 quotes are from :
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/SupplementaryWelfareAllowance/Pages/RentSupplement.aspx

they are clearly saying that unless you have extra means then you should be paying only 30 or 35.

maybe your friend is getting a maintenance payment from the kids father

gbee

green123 wrote: »

the kids father

child's father? maybe?

MariMel

I pay €60 a week.

green123

MariMel wrote: »

I pay €60 a week.

well then you must have other means "above the appropriate basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance rate" as the link above states

MariMel

green123 wrote: »

well then you must have other means "above the appropriate basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance rate" as the link above states

Nope, but for reasons I am not going into, I am classed as a single person, yet have accommodation suitable for myself and my son. Hence why I pay more than the minimum.

OP also make sure that the limit you think your rent can be is actually that.
The rates for each region are the MAX rates and can differ between areas within that region. So OP your best option is to go in and talk to your CWO before you find somewhere you really like only to find out the limit for your area is lower than the maximum stated.

Following taken from citizens information website:

Maximum rent limits for each county

These are the maximum rent limits from 1 January 2012 (lower rates can be set for areas within each county). The basis for these limits can be found in the Rent Limit Report 2011.

Yawns

green123 wrote: »

yourself or your partner must be working or have other means.

if neither of the couple are working and neither have means then you pay just 35 like i said and like the website says

I am not working currently and neither is my partner. I pay more than €35 per week. Why do you still insist you are right that a couple pays a max of €35 per week? It clearly states at least €35 per week for a couple. At least. Not max. It's up to the deciding officer to calculate how much a person must contribute. In my case it was the new central rents unit up in Dublin.

In most cases around the country it is done by a CWO.

upinthesky

well i don't think its fair, people can go and pick there nice big house get rent allowance while on social welfare, and pay between 30 - 60 euro a week?

while someone that lives in a council house on social welfare pays 45 euro a week?

i know what house id be choosing

Yawns

I thought a council house was 10% of your income. If you were on social welfare in a council house would it not be around the €35 mark for a couple as well? Afaik council rent is different for most people as it works off of percentage. Where Rent Allowance is a set amount decided by welfare officer. Two families on same benefits and receiving same amount could end up paying different amounts on Rent Allowance as long as it's between €35 - €60

Also if you find employment while on Rent Allowance, it will be stopped pretty much straight away while the assess your income and if you are over then you get cut off. While in council house they will assess it on a yearly basis and only make adjustments then but it will still only be at about 10% of your overall income. In some cases they backdate when the payment should be made and you can fall into arrears but it should still work out at 10% overall. So there is a few different things going for each one.

edellc

green123 wrote: »

yourself or your partner must be working or have other means.

if neither of the couple are working and neither have means then you pay just 35 like i said and like the website says

Didnt meant to like your post as I DONT

I am currently unemployed as is my partner and we have one child in receipt of RA and we pay 40euro a week towards our rent, even though we had it reduced to within the guildlines of 875euro a months

so you are wrong in saying that the max is 35euro a week and you are wrong in assuming that some one is working within the house hold

we get exactly what a married couple should be getting on social welfare no more no less yet pay 40euro in rent a week

(and yes it is a whole lot less than if we where working and for that we are very grateful...but not the point of my post...)

edellc

lisar816 wrote: »

well i don't think its fair, people can go and pick there nice big house get rent allowance while on social welfare, and pay between 30 - 60 euro a week?

while someone that lives in a council house on social welfare pays 45 euro a week?

i know what house id be choosing

Just to point out also that you dont get to pick a nice big house, have you seen what is available on rent allowance within the limits of the area??? very little and very poor quality so no its not very nice and not very big, we also dont have the security of staying a long time and bringing up a family...I would gladly pay 45euro a week for that security for life and having my own home at such a cheap price rather than being a nomad constantly on the move with private renting

mp22

This is going well I see!

Just for clarity some councils charge more than others for their housing,I believe the average country wide is 14% of your total income.

As the OP's question seems to have been answered I will CLOSE this.