How easy is it to switch county on lone parents and rent allowance

cbyrd

Bit of background first..I've made the decision to move closer to my partner rather than him moving in with me. He lives in Mayo and I live in Meath. His kids live up there and the travelling up and down is killing us. I'm pregnant and due next month.
The reason for the move was pre-empted by the house I'm currently renting being sold and I have til Christmas to be out. Rental property in town has gone mental expensive since I've started renting and is a lot cheaper up there.

So, how much form filling explaining and pulling my hair out am I looking at?
Is it just a change of address and post office or is there more to it? We won't be living together so none of my benefits are likely to change

I'll need to get it sorted by nov 1st as I have kids in school and want them settled in new schools after mid-term.

myshirt

My recommendation would be to ring and close your claim, immediately.

Take advice also from citizens information if any issues arise down the line, as sometimes can. But certainly close the claim if those are your circumstances, asap.

ABajaninCork

Read the OP - She ISN'T living with her partner, and has no plans to do so. Why would the OP close her claim?

my friend

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Read the OP - She ISN'T living with her partner, and has no plans to do so. Why would the OP close her claim?

Sure.

myshirt

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Read the OP - She ISN'T living with her partner, and has no plans to do so. Why would the OP close her claim?

Living with your partner as a determinant of cohabitation - it's easy to understand - people get it. I understand that.

But believe it or not it is not the only determinant.

Cohabitation in terms of welfare has a much wider scope - and essentially it's substance over form.

Me for example - like many others in modern day Ireland - find themselves getting work away from home. Just the nature of things.

So I work primarily in Dublin, and my long suffering other half and the kids are in Limerick with zero income. I pay for both places. We don't claim lone parent. We can't. I don't claim rent allowance. I can't. They are not even my kids. But we are in a relationship.

OP - call your case officer and explain your circumstances. They can advising you of the process applicable to you, be it closing a claim, moving a claim etc. Citizens Information are also great and can help you on this move with your partner.

ABajaninCork

my friend wrote: »

Sure.

How do you know? I'd just take the OP's word for it until proved otherwise.

@OP. There's no info I can find online. Could you speak to Citizen's Info and get a steer from them?

myshirt

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Read the OP - She ISN'T living with her partner, and has no plans to do so. Why would the OP close her claim?

My work contact finishes in 2 months.

Could I go back to Limerick and:

- Open up a jobseekers claim
- Get rent allowance in a house around the corner from my partner
- Fuel allowance; a medical card
- Have my other half open up a lone parent claim; a rent allowance claim; fuel allowance; medical card; back to school allowance.

Because it would help. Family income would go up significantly and a lot of stress would also go. We'd have two houses aswell that we could frequent.

We've a disabled child in the mix. And one income. Paying two lumps of cash for housing, and paying for health insurance leaves me with very little each month.

Could I do this?
The answer? No.
We're in a relationship.
That's the substance of the scenario. Despite living apart because of economic realities.

BowWow

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Read the OP - She ISN'T living with her partner, and has no plans to do so. Why would the OP close her claim?

To be fair, in the OP's other thread on this, she states she is thinking of moving in with her new partner.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057295593

myshirt

BowWow wrote: »

To be fair, in the OP's other thread on this, she states she is thinking of moving in with her new partner.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057295593

She's just assessing her options to be fair. It's what any rational person would do. And people ask for advice in good faith.

I do hope the op will close the claim, whether she moves or not, given her circumstances as she described them, being in that level of relationship.

Best wishes with birth of your child also op!

cbyrd

No, I'm not moving in with my partner, he has his own place that he owns, but is not big enough for all of us, I was merely sussing out up the options I have, after all I did ask what changes would happen if we did move in together, but i did have a bit of a laugh at the 'OMG she's lying her head off' attitude. :pac: I have been honest and up front with the lone parent officer when he called to see me and knows i'm in a relationship but as we don't live in the same county and he doesn't contribute to my household there is no question about my payments being genuine. He has 4 kids and is seperated on jsa.
I was merely trying to find out some information on how to go about changing address, and, on speaking to social welfare I've been told its as easy as that, the new lease agreement and photo ID into the new town's social welfare office.
The reasons behind my queries is I have 8 weeks to be out of this house and i'm due a baby in 6 weeks. In the town i'm in the rents have gone massively expensive and on friday I decided to look about moving closer to him and his kids so they would be able to see the baby more easily. I have no support where I'm living and up there i would have extended family plus the rents are about €200 per month cheaper. Its a no brainer.
Thanks for the info I got and I will remember in future to post that I am an honest person with no reasons to defraud social welfare

Donald73

OP I had to move recently so was in kind of the same boat as you. The rent limits had changed where I lived and was told to find something cheaper, there was nothing cheaper so I moved from Wexford back to my mam's house. Rent allowance I can't help you with as now I don't get that but I went in to change my address for OPFA and the office in Dublin were brilliant. I made an appointment and went in, they sent me to another desk and he just copied my paperwork and told me he'd get the file from Wexford and I'd be paid on the Thursday which was fine. Obviously it depends on offices but you shouldn't be waiting long. I would ring them beforehand to find out what paperwork they'll want - as far as I recall it was a bill from the new house, photo ID and not sure what else but ring anyway.

One thing I didn't know is that it takes a good bit of notice (preferably a month) to get your Child Benefit changed over -my sister told me this after the event of us moving so I missed out on the payment I was due but they were very good they paid it back to me. So if you are moving then send them a letter to the Child Benefit office stating that you are moving on X date and asking that your payment be made to X post office in the new area and they will do that. Even if you miss one like me, put on the letter that you didn't get payment from X month and ask can they pay that too in the new post office.

I would also ring the Rent Allowance section and have a chat with them. I did before moving and they are really helpful. Also just be aware that if you're on the council list in your area you will need to tell them you're moving and get a letter from them stating this before you can go in and get onto the council list in the new area and also you will drop to the bottom of the new list regardless of where you are currently on list.