Rent allowance

laurlaur

I am a 25 year old irish girl and have just returned from lanzarote as i have lived there the last year. i am recieving social welfare allowance of 188 a week and am staying on a friends couch as i had a fallen out with my mother! am i entitled to rent allowance and how do i go about it??

mp22

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

Equality

Go down to your local community welfare officer and apply.

You should also go to your local authority (corporation or county council) and fill out a housing application, on the basis that you are effectively homeless.

It is impossible to know if you are entitled, you simply make a claim and if refused you can appeal.

another question

Rent allowance is always something I have found difficult to understand, even after reading the pages of information about it on citizens information on numerous occasions. I have an interest on behalf of a friend, it doesn't concern me personally but his situation isn't dire but at the same time not ideal. He is single and 54 years of age but has been living at home with his parents for the last 5 years since he lost his business. He is on social welfare for the same length of time and has a rather depressing existence. When I asked him did he not qualify for rent allowance he said no but that he never applied because he knew he wouldn't get it and then I began to look into myself.

So basically because he has not been 1) living in private rented accomodation for at least 6 months and therefore cannot prove that he cannot now afford it he doesn't qualify and 2) because he is not homeless and therefore not in need of social housing he does not qualify...it seems lose, lose to me.

Also, when I looked at the maximum rates for his area which was €340 per month I became even more confused, I have never even seen a dive for that little a month?! I know each person has to pay a minimum of €30 per week towards their rent but does that increase the €340 by (4 weeks X €30) €120 for example bringing the max rent per month to €460 or have I got it totally wrong because the amounts for most of the counties in Ireland seen ridiculously low or do these amounts relate to the maximum amount the welfare will pay? I am really am confused with it all and would like to be able to offer him some positive information.

How does anyone who cannot afford rent in private accomodation in the first place prove they need rent allowance, that's mainly what I don't understand, it's almost like if you didn't get in there straight away when you lost your job etc then that's your problem instead of what he did and moved back home.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

laurlaur

Exactly what another questions said!

And will i need a deposit?can the swo pay this?
And how much exactly rent allowance can i get?
If 340e does that meam towards a rent of 700??or can my rent not exceed that amount?

cabb8ge

I think it would be best to apply for it before wondering who will pay the deposit etc etc etc.

laurlaur

So am i entitled to it as a 25 year old staying on a friends couch??

edellc

Deposits are only given at the cwo discretion

Normally rent allowance is given if you have been assessed as in need of social housing by your local authority and/or privately renting for 6 out of the last 12 mths

When you look at the table in regards to max rents for your circumstances in your county....these max rents are the maximum rent payable to a landlord and are inclusive of your contribution, it is expected that a sw tenant contributes a min of 30 euro a week towards rent

If you can't find a rental within the threshold it is up to you to negotiate with the landlord to get the rent to the level allowed for your situation and county, once you have succeeded in doing this the cwo pays a visit for inspection just to make sure its habitable, and either assist with a deposit or not

Rent allowance is paid in arrears

A general rule for me anyway is always have the deposit and first mths rent up front, even if you have to borrow to get it, then pay back out of your deposit if you receive it from cwo and in installments from you dole...rent allowance tenants should be no different from working tenants


Hope this clears things up for you, now the first thing you need to do is visit your cwo

another question

I think everyone is confused as nobody seems to have the answer. Was looking at a couple of other forums on this topic and a landlord was asking about rent allowance tenants getting their deposit and how he can't afford to wait for their applications to be processed for his rent?

Does this not completely contradict the rules set out on citizens information which states that you have to be in private rented accomodation for 6 months and then prove that you were able to pay and are now not able to pay. Confused.com

areyawell

laurlaur wrote: »

So am i entitled to it as a 25 year old staying on a friends couch??

Maybe, Maybe not. You will have to set up a meeting and they will talk to you about your individual case. Rent allowance can take months to come through. Better off saving every cent. It is heavily means tested.

I know friends who tried to get it and are on the dole 2 or three years. There still living at home and because they have an option at home to live at home they won't get it.

another question

edellc wrote: »

max rents are the maximum rent payable to a landlord and are inclusive of your contribution, it is expected that a sw tenant contributes a min of 30 euro a week towards rent

If you can't find a rental within the threshold it is up to you to negotiate with the landlord to get the rent to the level allowed for your situation and county,

So say if there was a 1 bed apartment for €550 per month and that is LOW where we are and the max for the area was €340 (you say inclusive of €30 per week min) does that mean that the cwo provide 340-120 = 220, he pays 120 and can he not get the balance from say his parents or something and have the apartment for 550? Seriously nowhere here is going to be 340 a month

edellc

another question wrote: »

So say if there was a 1 bed apartment for €550 per month and that is LOW where we are and the max for the area was €340 (you say inclusive of €30 per week min) does that mean that the cwo provide 340-120 = 220, he pays 120 and can he not get the balance from say his parents or something and have the apartment for 550? Seriously nowhere here is going to be 340 a month

No he cant get the balance from his parents...as forms need to be filled out by landlord stating rent to be paid mth or weekly and what your asking about is defrauding the system which is strictly not allowed

As I said also 30 euro a week is the MINIMUM a tenant is asked to contribute its means tested so each person can receive different amounts and contribute different amounts

As for your last insightful comment about nowhere being within the limits in your area, well that's not true....look at daft.ie in every county there are places that fall into RA limits you may not want to live there but their are there and as I said its up to you to negotiate with the landlord

Yawns

another question wrote: »

So say if there was a 1 bed apartment for €550 per month and that is LOW where we are and the max for the area was €340 (you say inclusive of €30 per week min) does that mean that the cwo provide 340-120 = 220, he pays 120 and can he not get the balance from say his parents or something and have the apartment for 550? Seriously nowhere here is going to be 340 a month

In that case he would not get it. His rent must be at €340 per month or less before he can receive it. He will need to pay a minimum of 120 and will only get a maximum of 220 in your example.

You don't need to be renting in the 6 months prior to applying for rent allowance but you do have to be renting for 6 months of the last 12 months and it should be a place that would seem affordable before say you lost your job.

The other option is to be assessed as being in need of a house by the local council. In case of the OP, a simple falling out with a mother will not suffice. It needs to be a case where a house is overcrowded for example.

another question

edellc wrote: »

No he cant get the balance from his parents...as forms need to be filled out by landlord stating rent to be paid mth or weekly and what your asking about is defrauding the system which is strictly not allowed

As I said also 30 euro a week is the MINIMUM a tenant is asked to contribute its means tested so each person can receive different amounts and contribute different amounts

As for your last insightful comment about nowhere being within the limits in your area, well that's not true....look at daft.ie in every county there are places that fall into RA limits you may not want to live there but their are there and as I said its up to you to negotiate with the landlord

I have just been on daft.ie funnily enough, the lowest I could find in the area was €465 per month (125) over the limit.

Ok, so 30 is the minimum a tenant can contribute, that's where I'm stuck, so say the limit is 340 does that still mean that the rent per month can still only be a max of 340 per month or does that leave room for the tenant to contribute more if they could afford to meet the balance? That's what I am looking for clarification on. Or say if he could afford 50 per week, does that deduct 200 from the 340 and they would then only pay 140 towards it? :cool:

Yawns

another question wrote: »

I have just been on daft.ie funnily enough, the lowest I could find in the area was €465 per month (125) over the limit.

Ok, so 30 is the minimum a tenant can contribute, that's where I'm stuck, so say the limit is 340 does that still mean that the rent per month can still only be a max of 340 per month or does that leave room for the tenant to contribute more if they could afford to meet the balance? That's what I am looking for clarification on. Or say if he could afford 50 per week, does that deduct 200 from the 340 and they would then only pay 140 towards it? :cool:

The rent must be at the limit or less. Can't get much clearer. If the limit is 340 then his rent cannot exceed 340 even with his own money added to the rent allowance. How much he contributes is up the person deciding his rent allowance. The generally stick to the minimum required limit or close to it. So if he's only entitled to 340, then that is what his max rent total must be.

another question

Yawns wrote: »

The rent must be at the limit or less. Can't get much clearer. If the limit is 340 then his rent cannot exceed 340 even with his own money added to the rent allowance. How much he contributes is up the person deciding his rent allowance. The generally stick to the minimum required limit or close to it. So if he's only entitled to 340, then that is what his max rent total must be.

Got it! That's what I needed to know, thanks!

Yawns

Is the area Sligo?

Don't forget if he was to be in a shared accommodation his portion of the rent cannot exceed that of €195 for the sligo area. In order to to get RA in a shared accommodation he would have to provide details of the other tenants such as their pps numbers etc.

Yawns

Also here's a quick search of Sligo for daft.ie

http://www.daft.ie/searchrental.daft?s[cc_id]=c22&s[a_id][]=&s[route_id]=&s[a_id_transport]=0&s[street_name]=&s[txt]=&s[mnp]=&s[mxp]=300&s[mnb]=&s[mxb]=&s[mnbt]=&s[mxbt]=&s[pt_id]=&s[move_in_date]=0&s[lease]=&s[furn]=0&s[npt_id]=&s[days_old]=&s[single_beds]=&s[double_beds]=&s[twin_beds]=&s[agreed]=&search.x=38&search.y=13&more=&tab=&search=1&s[search_type]=rental&s[transport]=&s[advanced]=&s[price_per_room]=

another question

Yawns wrote: »

Also here's a quick search of Sligo for daft.ie

http://www.daft.ie/searchrental.daft?s[cc_id]=c22&s[a_id][]=&s[route_id]=&s[a_id_transport]=0&s[street_name]=&s[txt]=&s[mnp]=&s[mxp]=300&s[mnb]=&s[mxb]=&s[mnbt]=&s[mxbt]=&s[pt_id]=&s[move_in_date]=0&s[lease]=&s[furn]=0&s[npt_id]=&s[days_old]=&s[single_beds]=&s[double_beds]=&s[twin_beds]=&s[agreed]=&search.x=38&search.y=13&more=&tab=&search=1&s[search_type]=rental&s[transport]=&s[advanced]=&s[price_per_room]=

Ya thats why he ruled out shared accomodation, he doesn't want to share at his age anyway, his parents are good enough to him, he just wants his own space.

Re: the daft listing, Tubbercurry is 45mins from Sligo town, he would never see anyone! :rolleyes:

Yawns

What's with the roll eyes? The RA is there to help people in need and not to assist to make life cosier just because you want a bit of your own space. One of the reasons they have tightened it up over the last while is to stop people claiming it cos they want to live in the area but cannot afford to. I couldn't afford rent in Dublin when I lost my job so I moved to another county. It's not there to be picky about where you live, it's there to help put a roof over your head when you need it most, not just for a bit of quiet space.

another question

Yawns wrote: »

What's with the roll eyes? The RA is there to help people in need and not to assist to make life cosier just because you want a bit of your own space. One of the reasons they have tightened it up over the last while is to stop people claiming it cos they want to live in the area but cannot afford to. I couldn't afford rent in Dublin when I lost my job so I moved to another county. It's not there to be picky about where you live, it's there to help put a roof over your head when you need it most, not just for a bit of quiet space.

Apologies, I was getting tired last night, I didn't realise I clicked the rolleyes thing, I meant to hit the one above it.

No, I totally agree with you, that it is there to help people, to be honest he won't even talk about it with me, he seems to know that his situation doesn't justify it. I just wanted to try and help him as I know he's not in a very positive state of mind, I don't actually think his situation is too bad but he like many people find it depressing to be living with his parents at his age.

He finds it hard enough to run his own car at the moment and he lives in town so places like Gurteen and Tubbercurry would be of no use to him and would just isolate him further. At least he has friends etc in town, knowing him as a person, I don't think moving out of town would be a good thing for him so I was just trying to find out any extra information I could. No offence intended.