Homeless in 2 weeks - advice please

Sjoh123

Hi I'm a lone parent of 3 children and rent has been put up and rent allowence wouldn't accept the new rent. I have tried to find a new place but can't find anywhere. I have 2 weeks left here and don't know what to do. I went into council 2 months ago when I knew the rent would be put up and they said find somewhere cheaper which I wasn't able to find. Just got my letter to vacate the 11th August. Don't know what to do

The_Morrigan

When did you receive the notice to quit? Two weeks isn't a typical notice period under the RTA.

Also, do you have a current lease?
How long have you been renting this particular house?

who_ru

Sjoh123 wrote: »

Hi I'm a lone parent of 3 children and rent has been put up and rent allowence wouldn't accept the new rent. I have tried to find a new place but can't find anywhere. I have 2 weeks left here and don't know what to do. I went into council 2 months ago when I knew the rent would be put up and they said find somewhere cheaper which I wasn't able to find. Just got my letter to vacate the 11th August. Don't know what to do

ring your local TD.

Mrs OBumble

Start looking for houses in area where the rent is lower.

MouseTail

Im afraid you will have to look wider as stated above. I know it can be difficult, especially if the children are in school. But the alternative is to present yourself as homeless once the two weeks are up, and be placed in emergency accommodation. Please try to avoid this.

Sjoh123

The_Morrigan wrote: »

When did you receive the notice to quit? Two weeks isn't a typical notice period under the RTA.

Also, do you have a current lease?
How long have you been renting this particular house?

My lease is up over a year. He told me about it 2 months ago I have been trying to find accomodation but not many in Dublin that will accept rent allowence because the limits are low

Sjoh123

I have spoken to Fingal council who advised they can't help till actually homeless. They advised to call Threshold which have been a great help, they will try to negotiate with the landlord and rent allowence to get an increase on rent allowence. I've been told this is a common problem now that rents have increased in Dublin. So I have to wait and see now

GarIT

Sjoh123 wrote: »

My lease is up over a year. He told me about it 2 months ago I have been trying to find accomodation but not many in Dublin that will accept rent allowence because the limits are low

Try Kildare and Meath.

Dredd_J

This is why landlords in general are not accepting rent allowance anymore.
Landlord wants market rent, tells tenant, tenant goes to welfare, welfare says no. Landlord has to ask tenant to leave.
Too many people in the equation.
What should happen is that welfare rent the house off the landlord and then the landlord has nothing more to do with it.
When lease is up and rent increases the rent is to be either paid by welfare or they give the property back vacant and in the condition they got it. Without requiring the landlord to deals with whoever welfare put in there.

Welfare want to just pay rent and then wash their hands of the tenant. Landlords are not taking that anymore.

jimmycrackcorm

op, what is stopping you from moving to a small town where you can rent much cheaper. A friend, a single motjer, moved down the country, got a huge detached house renting at half the cost. She doesn't miss Dublin one bit, loves it.

Sjoh123

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

op, what is stopping you from moving to a small town where you can rent much cheaper. A friend, a single motjer, moved down the country, got a huge detached house renting at half the cost. She doesn't miss Dublin one bit, loves it.

What's stopping me, I am from
A small town and have had no choice now but to move back to my parents house with two of my children out of 3 because I can either stay in a homeless shelter or move home to my parents. Easy for u to say I have lived here for 12 years my life is here. Now I'm homeless and my son wants to stay with his father cause his friends are here. And I don't have a choice so not everybody's situation is like ur friend

Mrs OBumble

Are there really no houses for rent in the small town that you come from? Why not rent one of them?

Lots of working people cannot keep living in the places where they have lived for years, because they cannot afford the prices there any more. It's really no different for you.

Potatoeman

I have heard of more people leaving Dublin. Someone I work with has just moved out of the city as they couldnt justify paying what the landlord was looking for. They get a train into work under an hour commute , bigger property and half the price.

whomitconcerns

Sjoh123 wrote: »

What's stopping me, I am from
A small town and have had no choice now but to move back to my parents house with two of my children out of 3 because I can either stay in a homeless shelter or move home to my parents. Easy for u to say I have lived here for 12 years my life is here. Now I'm homeless and my son wants to stay with his father cause his friends are here. And I don't have a choice so not everybody's situation is like ur friend

Lots of us in same boat...makes no difference if you are paying rent or the government are..dont want to sound mean but...

We dont get the option (non RA tenants) unless we can afford it so why would you get it?

lukesmom

Heart goes out to you. Really hope you find something soon.

The_Conductor

Point to note- once you stay with your parents- you are not 'homeless' and the council have no obligation to assist you. If you stay at the shelter (even nominally)- you are 'homeless' and with 3 children- put at the top of the priority list.

firestarter51

would you not tough it out in the shelter and have the kids stay temp at your parents, or even have one with you, could be the easiest way to get re housed, never know you might get council accomadation and pay the rent directly to the council, if your on low income the rent will be low, and if you get a job the rent will rise but wont crucify you

Sjoh123

firestarter51 wrote: »

would you not tough it out in the shelter and have the kids stay temp at your parents, or even have one with you, could be the easiest way to get re housed, never know you might get council accomadation and pay the rent directly to the council, if your on low income the rent will be low, and if you get a job the rent will rise but wont crucify you

I spoke to the council and there are no houses to give out until the government build more there are people in homeless shelters over a year now and that's normal. Many are housed in b&b as there is no where to put ppl. Il move to my parents for now with two of my children as it would be best for the kids rather than a shelter

Sjoh123

The_Conductor wrote: »

Point to note- once you stay with your parents- you are not 'homeless' and the council have no obligation to assist you. If you stay at the shelter (even nominally)- you are 'homeless' and with 3 children- put at the top of the priority list.

There is no top of list now as there are so many in the same position as me since rents have went up, I believe over 100 family's homeless in Dublin and it's not just Dublin I tried just outside Dublin but most are over the rent allowence limit or won't accept it.

Sjoh123

whomitconcerns wrote: »

Lots of us in same boat...makes no difference if you are paying rent or the government are..dont want to sound mean but...

We dont get the option (non RA tenants) unless we can afford it so why would you get it?

I understand that, and if my eldest would move with me that wouldn't be an issue having to leave Dublin but he's 12 now and wants to be here he's been here his whole life

Sjoh123

The_Conductor wrote: »

Point to note- once you stay with your parents- you are not 'homeless' and the council have no obligation to assist you. If you stay at the shelter (even nominally)- you are 'homeless' and with 3 children- put at the top of the priority list.

I spoke to council and this is not the case anymore as there are to many family's homeless now and no new social housing been built.

ohohseven

Didn't I hear in the news not so long ago that RA was being increased in Dublin ?

chris85

Sjoh123 wrote: »

I understand that, and if my eldest would move with me that wouldn't be an issue having to leave Dublin but he's 12 now and wants to be here he's been here his whole life

I want to live where I grew up but cant afford to buy there. I currently want to buy a house where I am renting but cant afford it so I am going to compromise and move elsewhere. We do have a right to shelter but not location. I think this is fair enough to a degree. I don't completely agree that the rent allowance is enough given our rising rents but the government cannot afford to give out more and there are houses in other areas which are within the RA limits i'd imagine.

Sjoh123

ohohseven wrote: »

Didn't I hear in the news not so long ago that RA was being increased in Dublin ?

Didn't hear that, I spoke to ra and they just said I had to find somewhere cheaper or go homeless and speak to Fingal council

Sjoh123

chris85 wrote: »

I want to live where I grew up but cant afford to buy there. I currently want to buy a house where I am renting but cant afford it so I am going to compromise and move elsewhere. We do have a right to shelter but not location. I think this is fair enough to a degree. I don't completely agree that the rent allowance is enough given our rising rents but the government cannot afford to give out more and there are houses in other areas which are within the RA limits i'd imagine.

Yeah I agree with u but why is there not a limit on what landlords can charge rent in locations. I've my stuff nearly packed up to move back to my parents tomorro so at least I'm not homeless. But there should be limits on rent or at least regulated in some way

mrmitty

Sjoh123 wrote: »

Yeah I agree with u but why is there not a limit on what landlords can charge rent in locations. I've my stuff nearly packed up to move back to my parents tomorro so at least I'm not homeless. But there should be limits on rent or at least regulated in some way

I guarantee you that if there was less government manipulation of markets rather than more then the cost of housing and rent in Dublin, a two bit city on the perfiry of Europe would be a lot less.

It's the excessive government manipulation of the market and pïss poor urban planning that's to blame for these insane prices.

chris85

mrmitty wrote: »

I guarantee you that if there was less government manipulation of markets rather than more then the cost of housing and rent in Dublin, a two bit city on the perfiry of Europe would be a lot less.

It's the excessive government manipulation of the market and pïss poor urban planning that's to blame for these insane prices.

Yeah have to agree. Regulation would not be ideal. I dont think its the governments place to regulate a rental market. This has been studied by the EU before and a few things and the rental market can shrink as less people rent due to smaller returns from it. Also if regulated poorly it may struggle to allign with economic conditions for the landlord (i.e. raising rates for a mortgage but unable to raise rents due to over regulation).

But poor planning has seen a lot of crap properties enter the market. I would more like to see some regulation of the standard of rental properties. Some are in horrendus conditions and are still getting rented.

No Pants

Sjoh123 wrote: »

if my eldest would move with me that wouldn't be an issue having to leave Dublin but he's 12 now and wants to be here he's been here his whole life

12 year olds get to choose where they live now?

Look on the bright side; one less mouth to feed. He's the father's problem now.

Chattastrophe!

Yeah I wouldn't be letting a 12 year old dictate where he lives. Fair enough if this arrangement suits ye best, but you're the parent, you should make that decision, not him.

On the bright side, while your current situation isn't ideal, at least ye have a roof over your heads. How long are your parents willing to have you there, and have you decided on the next step yet?

You'd be amazed at how much cheaper rent is outside of Dublin. As two working professionals, we can very barely afford to rent on the outskirts of Dublin, so I'm not at all surprised that it isn't affordable on rent allowance. If you don't want to stay in your hometown, you could pick one of the bigger towns around the country - you'll still get the benefits of living near a big town, but without the crazy rent.

Zamboni

Sjoh123 wrote: »

Well at least I'm not homeless now bit of a squeeze me n two kids in one room and my eldest with his dad. Just the government don't give a **** it's all about cut backs and that's all

Spot on.
The government don't give a ***, should be every bodies starting point in life. That enables a person to not depend on the state for accomodation or resources and encourages self sufficiency.

The_Conductor

Sjoh123 wrote: »

There is no top of list now as there are so many in the same position as me since rents have went up, I believe over 100 family's homeless in Dublin and it's not just Dublin I tried just outside Dublin but most are over the rent allowence limit or won't accept it.

You get put on the list.
You are prioritised according to need.
It doesn't mean there is anything available- and at the rate things are moving- it could be years before anything is available.
There is a list.
Whether or not the list means anything with respect of urgent accommodation needs- is entirely a different question.

At last count there are over 430 families homeless in the Dublin area- and its increasing by 1 per day (according to Threshold).

The_Conductor

ohohseven wrote: »

Didn't I hear in the news not so long ago that RA was being increased in Dublin ?

In certain limited circumstances Community Welfare Officers have been given leeway to make small increases in RA payments- over and above the limits- however, in the context of Dublin- they are still significantly below the open market rent levels.

The issue is- councils sold off their housing stock- and no longer have the means to house those who are unable to house themselves. They are looking to private sector (private rental accommodation) to provide this service- however, they don't want to pay the going rate. This would be fine- is supply wasn't so constrained. Why should any landlord accept a steep discount on their rent- when they can have a private tenant pay them the going rate- and not have to play piggy-in-the-middle between a RA tenant, the council, Social welfare and who-ever else decides to stick their oar in.........

Solution- build more housing stock- and remove the right of tenants to purchase council housing- or at very least stipulate that for every unit sold, 1.5 new units has to be added to the councils housing stock levels.

Scotland are in the same problem as Dublin at the moment- and have been taking some drastic steps- that we would do well to study.

firestarter51

Sjoh123 wrote: »

I spoke to the council and there are no houses to give out until the government build more there are people in homeless shelters over a year now and that's normal. Many are housed in b&b as there is no where to put ppl. Il move to my parents for now with two of my children as it would be best for the kids rather than a shelter

if your on rent allowance for 2 years or more im sure there is a new scheme you can get on called RAS
someone in my estate is on the scheme, they pay the council an amount of rent based on income and the council pay the landlord direct, you then get a five year lease
i think this is preferable to rent allowance as some people are getting rent allowance and spending it and leaving rent unpaid and moving on leaving the landlord with a debt he cannot collect

might be worth checking out for your situation, explore all options as when you move back with your parents your no longer in need of housing according to the council, as far as i know
good luck anyway whatever you decide to do

fussyonion

firestarter51 wrote: »

if your on rent allowance for 2 years or more im sure there is a new scheme you can get on called RAS
someone in my estate is on the scheme, they pay the council an amount of rent based on income and the council pay the landlord direct, you then get a five year lease
i think this is preferable to rent allowance as some people are getting rent allowance and spending it and leaving rent unpaid and moving on leaving the landlord with a debt he cannot collect

might be worth checking out for your situation, explore all options as when you move back with your parents your no longer in need of housing according to the council, as far as i know
good luck anyway whatever you decide to do

RAS is not a new scheme and for a lot of Landlords, it's no better than Rent Allowance.

Why should LL's take a reduced rent..which is what the Council pay..AND have no say in who moves into their house?

firestarter51

fussyonion wrote: »

RAS is not a new scheme and for a lot of Landlords, it's no better than Rent Allowance.

Why should LL's take a reduced rent..which is what the Council pay..AND have no say in who moves into their house?

It is relatively new compared to rent allowance which nearly everyone is aware of, how does your rant help the op in anyway, she asked for help not a debate
The person I know on the scheme met the landlord and agreed to the scheme and the landlord got the rent he wanted for a five year term in an estate full of empty houses up for rent, everyone was happy

Tasden

The_Conductor wrote: »

In certain limited circumstances Community Welfare Officers have been given leeway to make small increases in RA payments- over and above the limits- however, in the context of Dublin- they are still significantly below the open market rent levels.

.

And, I don't have a link for this but I work closely with CWOs and agencies like threshold, apparently the discretionary payment is usually just paid for 13 weeks so doesn't really help at all long term

LordNorbury

Sorry to hear about the OP and her situation, it really has angered me this morning reading it. I'm starting to wonder is the day soon approaching in this country where we will be seeing US style trailer parks being created, in order to alleviate or deal with what is clearly an upcoming crisis, if it is not already a crisis?

It really sickens my hole reading these stories I have to say, and I can never get my head around how government policy has failed to deal with the provision of affordable accommodation basically since the 1990's, because greedy vested interests have always stood in the way of affordable property in this country and affordable accommodation. It seems to me that we are still cleaning up the mess after the last outbreak of national greed in this country made the price of property unaffordable for many people. House prices have fallen by 50%, yet here we are back in this place again where greed is rampant again.

Stay strong OP, and I hope you find a solution to the problem soon.

alex03

I am struck by how Irish people despised Cromwell for displacing people with his "To Hell or to Connaught" yet have no problem doing the same ourselves now. People aren't expecting to live in luxury estates or the likes, but effectively all rent allowance recipients are being forced out of the city.

Blanchardstown (Dublin 15) would be traditionally a cheaper place where people could afford to rent. The rent caps applicable are the Fingal County Council rates, which are the lowest of any of the Dublin Council rates. The rent cap for a family with two children is €850 pm / 900 pm for three children.

I've done a search today for a 2 bed in Dublin 15 on Daft.ie with max. rent €850 and there were absolutely no properties.

daft.ie/dublin-city/houses-to-rent/dublin-15/?s%5Barea_type%5D=on&s%5Bmxp%5D=850&s%5Bmnb%5D=2&s%5Badvanced%5D=1&rental_tab_name=advanced-sf

I don't blame Landlords for trying to maximise their return, but we should never have had a situation where the state relied on the private rental market to solve the problem of social housing. There is a rush to the bottom with ever decreasing wages yet rents continue to rise. Many people are being pushed out of paid employment because many wages don't cover the cost of private rents or childcare and this in itself is increasing the need for social housing.

The renting bubble is reigniting the housing market again and we are already seeing the start of an insane property bubble in Dublin.

Families with children are now being asked to move out of traditional working class areas and outside urban areas away from support networks that they may have. It is creating another welfare trap/dependency situation as it is moving people further away from ever being able to return to the jobs market. Many people could work and contribute to society if there was some housing /childcare supports. Our system is an all or nothing that creates welfare dependency.

I am currently working with a lone parent. Her daughter is 8. She was getting reduced One Family Payment, some maintenance from the Father, reduced rent allowance (600 per month) and was working part-time and paying child care. She was struggling and asked her boss for a raise. She got €400 per month. Her rent allowance has just been reviewed and she has now lost all rent allowance, so she is worse off now then before the raise, although she is now entitled to €20 pw FIS. Her ex never paid maintenance this month, so she went to rent allowance and asked them to re-evaluate based on her actual income and was told that as there is a court order in place, they will assess as if she's getting it, regardless of whether she gets it or not (perhaps this is the reason why many don't bother with court orders?). After she pays her full rent, childcare and transport to work, she is well below basic SWA rates per week. She is being forced out of the job force and will cost the state significantly more. It is a trap that is costing the state more. Unless, we can provide secure social housing many will face the same.

If people had access to safe affordable housing, they could work in minimum wage jobs, but you can't do this if you lose rent allowance. A minimum wage job would not support rent etc. Successive governments have failed in regard to housing and it is a cause of our international uncompetitiveness, we need higher wages to pay our ludicrous housing costs. This is the cause of the problem, not people who are in need of rent allowance.

A few weeks ago, I was with a single mother of a 5 year old who was in Fingal Co. Council offices and was homeless. She was there with her bags. She had presented weeks before, but was told they could not help her until she was actually homeless. That day she had no where else to go. At 3.30pm, the housing service closed and they had no shelter/ hostel for her and son that night. She was told she could call emergency homeless service at 4.30 pm that evening, which she did. They told her only accommodation available was for single people, not families but that if she called back at 10.30 pm they would see if anything was available then. I watched a 5 year old boy crying to his Mammy that he was scared and there was no where they could go.

Housing needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency and turning on people who are dependent on housing support is directing the anger at the wrong people.

LordNorbury

alex03 wrote: »

Unless, we can provide secure social housing many will face the same.

If people had access to safe affordable housing, they could work in minimum wage jobs, but you can't do this if you lose rent allowance. A minimum wage job would not support rent etc.

This is where we are at now today with Ireland Inc, there is a petty mindedness, a sheer thickness, and a profound sense of gombeenism that goes to the very centre of Irish political thinking, that I personally have always found to be actually quite frightening.

If you want to do something fairly fundamental these days, in terms of us apparently being a first world fully functioning and advanced democracy, when I say "something fundamental", I mean like if you want to put a roof over your head for you and your family, the most basic human need of all one could argue, next to eating food and drinking water, if you try to do that in this country today, you are treated as if you are somehow or another looking for something extravagant?!? It's like as if you are actually being audacious, extravagant, or outrageous on some level, if you have a notion in your head that you would like to live your life in a way that does not involve you living out of your parents boxroom until you are 40.

That's the scabby, petty, woodenheaded, thick, backward, highly unproductive, ultimately self defeating, socially messed up mentality that we have in this country right now, which we have allowed to now become central government policy.

There can be no doubt I think that the next step will be US style trailer parks, that will be ushered in fairly soon under the convenient flag of: "an immediate yet temporary solution to this urgent crisis"...

We really need to wake up in this country I think and very urgently re-access where we are and where we are going with all of this. I know friends who are extremely hard working, one in particular is a nurse/midwife, her rent for an apartment that she shares with another girl, is 850 a month after an increase that she was recently advised would be coming into effect. Her tenancy has now become unaffordable, yet she is working every hour God sends, everything she earns over 32,800 Euro is taxed at 41%, but at the end of the month (before her recent rent increase!), she hasn't a cent to her name.

When the day comes where hard working people can't afford a roof over their heads and are expected to pay an effective tax rate of between 50 and 60%, yet are being expected to move back into a spare room in their parents house, you have to ask what is going on.

salamanca22

mdolly123 wrote: »

Refuse to move and buy time, this puts the onus on landlord etc to begin legal proceedings to evict, in the meantime get on to your TD and local housing authority.

Or how about you don't advocate breaking tenancy law?

athtrasna

salamanca22 wrote: »

Or how about you don't advocate breaking tenancy law?

Precisely. The landlord is providing a service, they bear no responsibility for the situation the tenant is in. They are entitled to charge market rate for their property.

MouseTail

salamanca22 wrote: »

Or how about you don't advocate breaking tenancy law?

Or wrecking someone, who is already in a vulnerable positions chances of re-entering the private housing sector due to a bad reference.

salamanca22

athtrasna wrote: »

Precisely. The landlord is providing a service, they bear no responsibility for the situation the tenant is in. They are entitled to charge market rate for their property.

As a tenant and not a landlord myself I have no problem with saying it is not the landlords problem what the tenants personal situation is.

As you said, they are providing a service and deserve to be paid a fair amount for that. The fair amount being the market rate. If the tenant can't afford it then a new one will be found that can afford it.

And before people go off on their bleeding heart rants saying the landlord should have a heart bla bla bla. Do you know what the landlords circumstances are? Maybe he needs the extra rent to afford the mortgage.

iwillhtfu

I've been hearing so many of these stories the last while. I do feel for the kids in these situations.

I have too ask the question though, whatever happened to going out and getting a job/mortgage and buying a home and raise a family within your means?

I appreciate op you're a single mother and this would be extraordinarily difficult for a lone parent. Did you have a house/mortgage before you started a family.

I know a number of people who turn trying to get a council house into a full time job and a way of life it must really be a sad way to live, then when rents go up and no houses become available through the council they're up in arms and saying what about my kids!! The kids you decided to bring into this world without a stable foundation??

It's almost always the same story I'm not leaving my local area I grew up here.. blah blah blah I know one girl who refuses to even leave a particular road.

I myself live a long way from where I grew up, would I like to be back there? Yes, that's where my kids grandparents are both sets. We wanted to have a family though so we bought a house we could afford.

Sorry for the rant I'm just sick to death of particular people on welfare who aren't genuinely in need bitching and moaning about the position they've put themselves and their kids in.

Those in genuine need should be put to the top of the list not those who've made a lifestyle out of not working and receiving hand outs from the welfare.

LordNorbury

LordNorbury wrote: »

This is where we are at now today with Ireland Inc, there is a petty mindedness, a sheer thickness, and a profound sense of gombeenism that goes to the very centre of Irish political thinking, that I personally have always found to be actually quite frightening.

If you want to do something fairly fundamental these days, in terms of us apparently being a first world fully functioning and advanced democracy, when I say "something fundamental", I mean like if you want to put a roof over your head for you and your family, the most basic human need of all one could argue, next to eating food and drinking water, if you try to do that in this country today, you are treated as if you are somehow or another looking for something extravagant?!? It's like as if you are actually being audacious, extravagant, or outrageous on some level, if you have a notion in your head that you would like to live your life in a way that does not involve you living out of your parents boxroom until you are 40.

That's the scabby, petty, woodenheaded, thick, backward, highly unproductive, ultimately self defeating, socially messed up mentality that we have in this country right now, which we have allowed to now become central government policy.

There can be no doubt I think that the next step will be US style trailer parks, that will be ushered in fairly soon under the convenient flag of: "an immediate yet temporary solution to this urgent crisis"...

We really need to wake up in this country I think and very urgently re-access where we are and where we are going with all of this. I know friends who are extremely hard working, one in particular is a nurse/midwife, her rent for an apartment that she shares with another girl, is 850 a month after an increase that she was recently advised would be coming into effect. Her tenancy has now become unaffordable, yet she is working every hour God sends, everything she earns over 32,800 Euro is taxed at 41%, but at the end of the month (before her recent rent increase!), she hasn't a cent to her name.

When the day comes where hard working people can't afford a roof over their heads and are expected to pay an effective tax rate of between 50 and 60%, yet are being expected to move back into a spare room in their parents house, you have to ask what is going on.

Firstly, 850 for a room in a two bed is way above normal, meaning she's either overpaying or is living somewhere that is way above what she can afford. The vast majority of people pay less than half of what she's paying for a room, why do you expect sympathy?

Secondly, you take aim at the high rate of tax - what do you think pays for all of these free homes? Where do you think the money would come from to pay for EXTRA free or vastly reduced housing?

LordNorbury

Rojomcdojo wrote: »

Firstly, 850 for a room in a two bed is way above normal, meaning she's either overpaying or is living somewhere that is way above what she can afford. The vast majority of people pay less than half of what she's paying for a room, why do you expect sympathy?

Secondly, you take aim at the high rate of tax - what do you think pays for all of these free homes? Where do you think the money would come from to pay for EXTRA free or vastly reduced housing?

What do you mean she is living somewhere way above where she can afford? This is more of it, this uniquely Irish petty mindedness that dictates that we should work in the Coombe Hospital but yet at the same time live in Kinnegad?!? It is this very lack of vision that I am talking about, that only the wealthy, or else those with access to large capital/wealth via their parents, basically that only our current day ascendancy class, that should expect to be able to live in the capital, the city that they work in, anyone else who wishes to live in any kind of close proximity to their place of work, is seen as acting above their station, having notions about themselves, or is seen as making some sort of an unreasonable demand upon society?!?

How come we appear to be the only country in the world that I know of, I mean the only supposedly advanced first world developed economy, not like Zimbabwe, Bangladesh or Calcutta, that is simply unable, over a period of the last 20 years, to manage to provide or to create the conditions for the provision of, affordable, quality accommodation?

How come this is something that we can't accomplish, no matter what government is in place or no matter what economic conditions are prevailing, this fairly simple task to my mind, just seems to be completely beyond our grasp?

makeorbrake

LordNorbury wrote: »

What do you mean she is living somewhere way above where she can afford? This is more of it, this uniquely Irish petty mindedness that dictates that we should work in the Coombe Hospital but yet at the same time live in Kinnegad?!

It's not a case of working people living in Kinnegad (unless that is their own decision). However, if it's at the tax payers expense, then move out to Kinnegad or where-ever - and move back in when employment found again. There's a serious surplus of housing stock for small $ - that is seriously underutilized outside of the Dublin commuter belt. This is an opportunity to make use of same.

LordNorbury

LordNorbury wrote: »

What do you mean she is living somewhere way above where she can afford? This is more of it, this uniquely Irish petty mindedness that dictates that we should work in the Coombe Hospital but yet at the same time live in Kinnegad?!? It is this very lack of vision that I am talking about, that only the wealthy, or else those with access to large capital/wealth via their parents, basically that only our current day ascendancy class, that should expect to be able to live in the capital, the city that they work in, anyone else who wishes to live in any kind of close proximity to their place of work, is seen as acting above their station, having notions about themselves, or is seen as making some sort of an unreasonable demand upon society?!?

How come we appear to be the only country in the world that I know of, I mean the only supposedly advanced first world developed economy, not like Zimbabwe, Bangladesh or Calcutta, that is simply unable, over a period of the last 20 years, to manage to provide or to create the conditions for the provision of, affordable, quality accommodation?

How come this is something that we can't accomplish, no matter what government is in place or no matter what economic conditions are prevailing, this fairly simple task to my mind, just seems to be completely beyond our grasp?

Are you for real? She's paying 850 per month for a room! There's one of two things going on here, as I said earlier:

a. She's overpaying for substandard accommodation (at that price).

b. She's living in accommodation that is well above what she can afford.

Your thinking is so reeking of méfeinism...Why wouldn't she move somewhere cheaper?

Do you think she "deserves" to live where she is? Why is she more deserving than anyone else? If it was affordable accommodation provided by the government, she wouldn't be living in it anyway, it would be all going to people like the OP who don't work.

She's a single person (as far as living arrangements go, at least) earning more than *most* people, how far do you want us to bend for her? If she deserves to live where she wants, what about everyone on less than 30k? What about the people on minimum wage?

My guess is that you won't have an answer for 90% of my questions. You might call me some sort of Cromwell lover, though. I prefer realist.

martinsvi

as a tax payer I don't want people on rent allowances to be taking up central locations in Dublin while I have to commute my ass out of Kildare every day simply because there are not enough properties available on the market in Dublin. Let's be honest, there is a quite a lot of RA beneficiaries who will never work a day in their life, so why pay for them living in Dublin? As cynical it my sound, kicking them out and freeing up space in inner city Dublin might actually bring the prices down so people who actually do make their own living are able to take a breath again

MouseTail

LordNorbury wrote: »

What do you mean she is living somewhere way above where she can afford? This is more of it, this uniquely Irish petty mindedness that dictates that we should work in the Coombe Hospital but yet at the same time live in Kinnegad?!?

He means that you have picked a very bad example, one which does your argument no favours. €850 for a room in a house share in Dublin is very overpriced. It is not the market rate.

ComputerKing

LordNorbury wrote: »

When the day comes where hard working people can't afford a roof over their heads and are expected to pay an effective tax rate of between 50 and 60%, yet are being expected to move back into a spare room in their parents house, you have to ask what is going on.

Oh but how wrong are you just because someone is hardworking doesn't mean that they should be able to chose to live in someplace they can't afford. The reason we have this issue is because of peoples selfish self entitled attitudes you have absolutely no right to complain that you are getting evicted because you can't afford to live in the area you want to live in and claim your homeless. There are other areas that have cheeper rent and just because you could in the past afford to live in this are doesn't mean you have a God given right to live there now.

Also the high tax rate isn't just effecting the poor and disadvantaged. There are others of us who have to pay nearly 50% tax on our earnings as well. Many of us don't receive claim rent allowance or large amounts of social welfare as well so we are the ones really suffering seeing little return for the high amounts of tax that we pay.