Rental Allowance Increases On The Way

the groutch

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/homeless-crisis-rent-allowance-set-to-increase-1.2702073

A memo from Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar would see the rent limits that apply in councils across the country increase by more than 25 per cent in some cases.

Bad news for renters, as landlords will undoubtedly increase their rents to just above the new RA limits.

Would be much better if they created accountability for RA tenants who stop paying rent or damage properties, then landlords would be more likely to take part in the scheme, and such expensive stop-gap measures wouldn't be needed.

cruizer101

Really makes you wonder, are politicians thick or just greedy f**kers.

This is not the solution, the only sustainable solution is more houses, this just puts up rent for those who are only just affording it to a point where they can no longer afford it thus having to look for RA.

As you say if RA was better controlled and given directly to LL more would be inclined to take on RA tenants. Stuff like this really annoys me, how are young people meant to pay increasing rents and save for house of their own.

The government itself needs to build tens of thousands of units.

The government also needs to immediately tax developers who are sitting on unused land.

The government DOES NOT need to increase rent allowance.

Which do they do? :rolleyes:

Peterx

In fairness it is a complex problem without an easy solution.

Speaking from a purely financial viewpoint the 25% increase in rent allowance that keeps some families in their rental home is presumably less expensive then housing the same families in hotel rooms?

Complex solutions are required.
Landlords with one or two properties should NOT be the backbone of the RA system.
Every landlord and tenant should be on a publicly visible register with bad landlords and bad landlords being clearly and publicly rated as such. Much like the airbnb system.
The deposits should go to a government administered interest bearing account instead of landlords accounts.
The rent allowance should go directly to the landlords accounts.
The councils should restore rates, fund their own works and start building more council houses/flats.
There are many council houses/flats boarded up, these should all be renovated and put back into circulation.

And that's just a start.

Gatling

Don't think it's an across the board measure I reckon it's going to be discretionary much like we already have .
Shouldn't effect the market much

quadrifoglio verde

A great two fingers to the working poor who aren't entitled to rent allowance as they work and as a result spend hours sitting in traffic commuting to work in order to pay taxes to pay for the increases in rent supplement

Nokia6230i

As someone who's on R.A./R.S. and whose LL has given him 6 weeks notice after 6 years & 3 months and counting (fortnight left...!), he won't take H.A.P. despite signing off on R.S. Reviews annually.

So this R.A. increase ain't worth a to me!

Have never been in arrears rg rent or bills; always prompt.

Not all on R.A. are c***s to be fair & having received my 6 week notice after 6 years & 3 months with a fortnight left to run before I'm evicted & made homeless (Co. Council have nothing; say I'll be put into a hostel which they'll pay for but as it's only €10 a night I can cover that myself) I will continue to be a law-abiding tenant & pay my rent up to day & date of eviction.

I do worry this rent allowance increase will be abused by gouging landlords; we're some country for screwing the system in fairness!

Thoie

What is the reasoning behind not just paying RA directly to landlords? I was on RA for a brief period a number of years ago, and it would have been much handier for me. Is it because they feel that the landlords won't receive the "excess" amount that the tenant is liable for? Or is it just a throwback to the days of unregistered landlords and manual banking?

lcwill

Landlords must be happy that Fianna Fail are pulling the strings again.

This is guaranteed to increase rents over coming years and push up house prices with it - especially at the bottom end of the market.

The_Conductor

RA can be paid directly to landlords- the default is that its paid to the tenant and the tenant has to expressly request it be paid to the landlord otherwise- its not.

Same as children's benefit- doesn't matter which parent looks after the children- the mother gets the benefit- unless she expressly requests it be paid to the father.

Its a contrarian manner of disbursing funds- and indeed- it puts a lot of landlords off using the scheme- between the paperwork involved- and the fact that its reviewed annually and can be modified without any notice to the landlord- is it any wonder landlords aren't interested.........

snubbleste

Gatling wrote: »

Don't think it's an across the board measure I reckon it's going to be discretionary much like we already have .
Shouldn't effect the market much

It is an across the board increase from Friday and yes it will affect the market
http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Maximum-Rent-Limits-by-County.aspx

Eric Cartman

and the artificial floor for rents just went up.

The government needs to ease planning restrictions and make it easier for the private sector to build houses again, not this.

The people who lose most here are private renters.

punisher5112

I'm stuck renting want to buy but can't due to extortionate rent.

It doesn't help adding more taxes levies and so on.

Go out and work and provide for your family if you choose to have kids.

It's the usual rubbish hard working hit again.

Slydice

The new rates can be see here: http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Maximum-Rent-Limits-by-County.aspx

• The average hours worked per week in Ireland is 39 (maybe more).
• The maximum average working week for many employees cannot exceed 48 hours.
• The maximum minimum wage is €9.15

If a family with only one minimum wage earner has to compete with those rates,
here's how much they get in spending money per hour worked:


Worked out by:
Starting with the Monthly Rent Allowance: MonthlyRent.gif
then
Multiplying it by 12 months (for the year amount) and dividing it by 52 to get the Weekly Rent Allowance: WeeklyRent.gif
then
Dividing it by the 39 (hours in the average working week) to get how much it would be worth per working hour of a working week: WorkingWeekPerHour.gif
then
I took that number away from the highest minimum wage of 9.15per hour to get what was left per hour from the highest minimum wage: LeftFromHighestMinWage.gif


Feck that €1.46 per hour in [Dublin - Not Fingal] sounds grim when I start thinking of the cost of food for 3 kids and 2 adults on it.

Stheno

Slydice wrote: »

The new rates can be see here:
[/LIST]

So it's now 1200 pm including personal contribution for a couple with three kids in Fingal.

On daft I just searched for a three bed in North County Dublin for less than 1200.

Not one match.

For a couple it's 900 in Fingal.1 property met the criteria.

Can't see this having a huge impact on the rental market tbh, prices for renting have run away with themselves.

Nokia6230i

Slydice can you break it down for me in laymans terms please as Maths & logic etc. not my strongpoint.

Currently the maximum rent I can pay is €80.77 (no idea who came upon that figure or how! Know no landlord who'll charge that; it's either going to be €80 or €85) as a Single Man/Living Alone in a 1 Bed Flat/Apartament.

Out of that the DSP Contribution is €48.80 (again baffled by how that figure was arrived at; could they not've put it at €45 or €50 but I digress).

So how much of an increase on that €48.80 do I get please? Is it €6.55 so bringing my rent allowance contribution from the DSP up to €55.35 please?

Thanks.

Slydice

I'm not sure I can.

Looks like this website has the old and new limits:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schemes/rent_supplement.html

Nokia6230i wrote: »

Currently the maximum rent I can pay is €80.77 (no idea who came upon that figure or how! Know no landlord who'll charge that; it's either going to be €80 or €85) as a Single Man/Living Alone in a 1 Bed Flat/Apartament.

€80.77 x 52 weeks in the year is €4200.04

The website above only talks in months so I'd work out your monthly by dividing the €4200.04 by 12 months which is: €350

I cannot see €350 being the rate for a single man living alone on either the new or the old limits.

Maybe someone in their office might know your case better.

Maybe someone over on the State Benefits board would know:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=861

Nokia6230i

Slydice wrote: »

I'm not sure I can.

Looks like this website has the old and new limits:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schemes/rent_supplement.html


€80.77 x 52 weeks in the year is €4200.04

The website above only talks in months so I'd work out your monthly by dividing the €4200.04 by 12 months which is: €350

I cannot see €350 being the rate for a single man living alone on either the new or the old limits.

Maybe someone in their office might know your case better.

Maybe someone over on the State Benefits board would know:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=861

Thanks. No need for me to go to States & Benefits Forum I think as from the new list I've deduced I can pay up to €440 a month now instead of €375 & I will receive €55 instead of €48.80.

In hope I'm right thus ends my contribution to this thread....

the_syco

Peterx wrote: »

There are many council houses/flats boarded up, these should all be renovated and put back into circulation.

Those who caused the damage will be moved into another council flat, and the cycle continues. And the people who need homes are the ones that get affected due to the behaviour of the ******. If it's a council flat, only the council get affected, but if it's a private landlord, then that's it, they get screwed. And the PTRB won't be of any use in getting the landlord money back off the tenant.

I wonder how many are repeat offenders? No doubt they'd shout the loudest, but I think we should build a ghetto for the repeat offenders to go into, and leave them there until they learn how to treat their accommodation with respect.

macnug

They'd be better off cutting the Sw budget by 10% across the board and use that 2b a year or so to build social housing. Don't think anyone would have a problem with that.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

macnug wrote: »

They'd be better off cutting the Sw budget by 10% across the board and use that 2b a year or so to build social housing. Don't think anyone would have a problem with that.

I certainly wouldn't but you know the country would go into meltdown if you even thought about hitting the scrounging class. Dey tuk me dole Joe, etc etc.

macnug

Layton Muscular Sound wrote:

I certainly wouldn't but you know the country would go into meltdown if you even thought about hitting the scrounging class. Dey tuk me dole Joe, etc etc.

Yea but they would have a roof over their head eventually. They wouldn't have to worry about the the landlord upping their rent and being homeless. They could get a job with out having to worry about losing there home. Personally if it was me it would be worth it.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

It is entertaining to read so many posts saying "the government should build more houses". Where do people think the money is going to come from?

Imagine the government tried to divert funds from any form of SW? There would be uproar.

Instead, they will continue to screw and bleed the very people paying tax in this country.

I very much like the idea that @macnug suggests, lets cut SW across the board by X% and use that to fund the cost of building the houses we so badly need.

Or, how about take that 65 million "Christmas Bonus" and use that to build... what 250+ houses?
Or divert the 40 million increase in Child Benefit and build another 150+ houses?
65 million diverted from 'Water Assistance' grant to build 250+ houses..

etc.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Agree with the above. The money is there, but people need to realise that we can't have it all, despite what sf, aaa, pbp etc will tell you. The Christmas bonus is a particular pet hate of mine.

endagibson

macnug wrote: »

They could get a job...

:pac:

TheDoc

Stheno wrote: »

So it's now 1200 pm including personal contribution for a couple with three kids in Fingal.

On daft I just searched for a three bed in North County Dublin for less than 1200.

Not one match.

For a couple it's 900 in Fingal.1 property met the criteria.

Can't see this having a huge impact on the rental market tbh, prices for renting have run away with themselves.

I'm in the Fingal area. Granted I'm now a month in a new rented property that is a friend of the family(landed on my feet with the savings) I was paying €1250 a month for a 3 bed in Swords.

Only my income. The definition of the squeezed middle. Believe landlord secured €1400 when we moved out. It's mental.

although RA rents now going up will surely just inflate the situation, even though those people won't be able to actually afford rent. It's also a method for LL's to avoid RA tenants entirely without dealing with the inequality thing. Just set the rent above the allowances.

TheDoc

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

Agree with the above. The money is there, but people need to realise that we can't have it all, despite what sf, aaa, pbp etc will tell you. The Christmas bonus is a particular pet hate of mine.

If we had a stricter and tougher metric to deal with the dole lifers, things would be much better off. But politicians too PC to even attempt to deal with it.

Paulw

Mod Note: Unless someone can give me a good reason - thread closed.

This has become a discussion on politics, rather than just accommodation and property, and there's a bit too many posts about "them" and "us".