Calculating Rent Supplement

I'm in the process of moving to Dublin and will be looking for places that accept rent allowance - the majority of the ones that do are in the region of €350-€400 per month, which I can't afford for longterm, without the supplement. Since they do accept rent allowance, I'll be looking in to getting it.

However I'm finding it difficult to figure out how much I'll have to pay:

The only income I receive per week is the dole, which amounts to €188 per week. I don't drive and don't use billpay on my phone, so my only outgoings would be a loan I'm paying back per week, groceries and bills on top of that, so realistically about €80 per week (at a guess).

Is there any way to calculate how much I'll have to pay if a place is, say -- €380 per month (just a random figure off the top of my head)? I'd prefer to try and get a possible figure in my head before I start looking at these properties.

MistyCheese

If you qualify for Rent Supplement you need to find accomodation that does not exceed €109.62 a week. You also must pay a minimum contribution towards the rent of €30 a week. So if you were to rent a place for €380, that would be calculated as €87 a week, minus your €30 contribution would be €67 a week Rent Supplement.

So if €30 is the minimum I'd have to pay, is there a chance it'd be higher than that and, if so, who decides how much more, the landlord or the social welfare?

MistyCheese

In certain circumstances a Community Welfare Officer can agree to allow you to pay more than the €30 for suitable accomodation. For example, if you had special needs and couldn't find a decent place for under €110 a week.

There certainly shouldn't be any circumstances where you'd be asked to pay more than the €30 towards your rent. Sometimes landlords and tenants have arrangements like this but they aren't offically allowed. In this type of scenario a tenant would arrange to rent a property for, for example, €120 a week but only declare the rent to be €109 on the Rent Supplement forms. These are forms the landlord has to also sign. The tenant would then have to make up the €11 difference themselves.

The only reason I can think of as to why a CWO would insist you pay more than €30 towards your rent would be if you had an increase in income. This wouldn't apply if you are recieving Jobseeker's Allowance/Benefit. It would potentially apply if you were working part time (you can work up to 30 hours a week and still qualify for Rent Supplement as long as you are earning below a certain threshold) or if you are self-employed.

MariMel

Just wondering if you meet the criteria for being eligible for rent supplement?
Working out how much you would have to pay may not even come into play if you do not meet the requirements.

Yawns

The CWO or Central Rents unit will decide how much you need to contribute. Depending on the area you will be in, it will be one or the other. They may just have you pay the minimum or they may decide you need to pay higher. I think the max for a single person is €55. they don't need to give a reason nor does it have to be a special decision or case or base it on income.

I was living in one area and am with my partner and child on RA. We paid the minimum to contribute which is now €35. These days we are paying €45 per week so €10 more for no simple reason. When asked they just said it was their decision and they can decide any amount between the min and the max.

LegacyUser

i have applied for rent supplement i am only on 188 a week how much rent would i get. the accomodation is 81 a week

BonkeyDonker

nenagh1 wrote: »

i have applied for rent supplement i am only on 188 a week how much rent would i get. the accomodation is 81 a week

You pay the first €30 yourself and the supplement will cover the remainder. So in your case it would be €51.

doc11

Would the min not be €32 on 188 euro, the min of 30 applies to the SWA rate of 186 so the extra 2 euro in jobseekers would count as means and added to your contribution

Nomis21

doc11 wrote: »

Would the min not be €32 on 188 euro, the min of 30 applies to the SWA rate of 186 so the extra 2 euro in jobseekers would count as means and added to your contribution

yes it will be 32 euro, thats what I pay.