Rent allowance

Bunny1234

ok so its 725E rent allowance with 2 kids (a single mum i am) so if i found somewhere and rent is 500 or 650 can i get rent allowance or does it have to be 725 or is that maximum and anything at that or lower than it i can get rent allowance? thank you..

mrsbyrne

Bunny1234 wrote: »

ok so its 725E rent allowance with 2 kids (a single mum i am) so if i found somewhere and rent is 500 or 650 can i get rent allowance or does it have to be 725 or is that maximum and anything at that or lower than it i can get rent allowance? thank you..

If you meet all the criteria for rent supplement and you find a place below the limit then that is fine . Your contribution will be a minimum of €35 per week.

fussyonion

Bunny1234 wrote: »

ok so its 725E rent allowance with 2 kids (a single mum i am) so if i found somewhere and rent is 500 or 650 can i get rent allowance or does it have to be 725 or is that maximum and anything at that or lower than it i can get rent allowance? thank you..

€725 is the maximum your rent must be. If you find somewhere that's less, your Rent Allowance cheque will be less too.
For example, if you found a place that was €600, your Rent Allowance cheque would be around €400...don't quote me on that figure.

BonkeyDonker

fussyonion wrote: »

€725 is the maximum your rent must be. If you find somewhere that's less, your Rent Allowance cheque will be less too.
For example, if you found a place that was €600, your Rent Allowance cheque would be around €400...don't quote me on that figure.

The above is true - however, your contribution will be the same, so you will not be directly out of pocket.

fussyonion

BonkeyDonker wrote: »

The above is true - however, your contribution will be the same, so you will not be directly out of pocket.

Just to add..topping up the rent is not allowed. So if you find somewhere that is €800, you can't add the rest of the rent yourself.

Bunny1234

Thanks everyone, well yeah its not allowed to top the rent up but many are doing it and landlords are agreeing tot his also, found a place and have applied for RA thanks

fussyonion

Bunny1234 wrote: »

Thanks everyone, well yeah its not allowed to top the rent up but many are doing it and landlords are agreeing tot his also, found a place and have applied for RA thanks

Yes many are doing it but what will happen is your RA will be reduced again at some stage so you'll have to pay a significant amount more to make up for it.

Say you're claiming your rent was €800. You probably get something like €600 Rent Allowance. But really your rent is €900, so you're having to make up the difference of €300 a month.

But what happens when your allowance is reduced again? Because you've lied about the real rent, the amount you have to top up is even bigger.
It doesn't work long-term; believe me, I've done it and it gets messy.

mrsbyrne

Bunny1234 wrote: »

Thanks everyone, well yeah its not allowed to top the rent up but many are doing it and landlords are agreeing tot his also, found a place and have applied for RA thanks

Don't do this it won't work out long term for you. You can't beat the system.

Bunny1234

Oh yeah defo wouldnt work out in the long run, im not doing it that way i found a house for 700euro per month so its in my range that i was looking for, i dont no how people can rent like for 800E a month and say to RA that rent is cheaper and top it up themselves how can they afford to pay that amount while waiting on RA to be accepted and if they can afford it why r they applying for RA if they can afford this much, im struggled to pay 700 rent to landlord but im hoping RA be through soon officer has been out to inspect the place so fingers crossed i get it soon