Rent Allowance Question

astonaidan

So guys quick question, Im doing X and Os and from next week on will be claiming for my wife who is a emigrant to the country, we are moving into a apartment on the weekend, my question is are we entitled to rent allowance?

GHOST MGG

4. What are the qualifying conditions for Rent Supplement?

You may get Rent Supplement if you have been living for 6 months (183 days) out of the last 12 months in one, or a combination, of the following:

Private rented accommodation (you must be able to show that you could afford the rent at the beginning of your tenancy and that you could have continued to pay rent but are unable to do so because of a change in your circumstances which occurred after you started renting)
Accommodation for homeless people
An institution, for example, a hospital, care home or place of detention
Or

If you have been assessed by your local housing authority as being eligible for and in need of social housing in the last 12 months. (see question 6)
In addition to these requirements, the officer dealing with your claim must be satisfied that:

your accommodation is suited to your needs.
you are habitually resident in the State.
the amount of rent you pay is within the maximum rent limit for your area and family size.
if your accommodation is provided through the Capital Assistance Scheme, the amount of Rent Supplement payable does not exceed €55 per week for single people and €60 per week for couples.
5. Who does not qualify for Rent Supplement?

You will not qualify for Rent Supplement if:

You work full-time (more than 29 hours per week) unless you have been deemed as eligible for the Rental Accommodation Scheme by the local housing authority. (see question 6)
Your spouse or partner is engaged in full time employment.
you are in full time education (some exceptions apply).
you are involved in a trade dispute. However your dependant spouse and dependant children are not excluded from SWA for the period of the strike.
you are living in accommodation provided by a local authority.
you are living in accommodation provided by the Health Service Executive.
you are living in accommodation provided by a body or organisation which provides services on behalf of, or similar to, or ancillary to the Health Service Executive, where that body uses residential care staff in providing such services and also receives a subvention payment from the Minister for Health in respect of you.
you are living in accommodation provided by a voluntary housing body where that body receives a subsidy under the rental subsidy scheme.
you are receiving a rent allowance from the Department of Social Protection due to being a tenant in decontrolled rented accommodation.
you are admitted to an institution for a period of in excess of 13 weeks .
you have been excluded from the local authority housing list .
you have left local authority accommodation without satisfying the officer dealing with your claim there was good reason for doing so .
you refuse two offers of social housing from a Local Authority within a 12 month period.
you are not lawfully in the State.
you have made an application for asylum under the Refugee Act, 1996 and your application is awaiting final decision by the Minister for Justice and Equality .
you have made an application under the Aliens Act, 1935 to remain in the State and your application has not been determined.
your landlord does not provide their Tax Reference Number or a valid reason for not having a Tax Reference Number.

Taken from http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/rent_faq.aspx

njs030

You will need to have been renting for 6 months and then your circumstances change and you can't afford it again, or get onto the county council housing list.

haveringchick

As above, you won't be looking for rent supplement it will be HAP which is a local authority scheme
You and your partner have to get a housing need application form, complete it, return it to them.
If you are considered "in need of housing" you can go ahead and look for somewhere to live but you first need to check out the rent limits for childless couples in your county as the monthly rent as charged by the landlord cannot exceed that limit

astonaidan

So ive been given the forms to get on the council house list, and was made aware that HAP is the new way. The thing is we are only a childless couple for another 6 months :eek::eek: hence why we are looking for a apartment