# Rent allowance appeal



## andy (29 May 2009)

Just thought id ask has anyone ever appealed a decission for rent allowance/supplement

my story is as follows:
Moved into a house with my girlfriend paying €1300 rent per month and that way fine anyway about 6 months into renting our new home things didnt work out and we got along just fine as house mates so we split into different rooms and split everything 50/50 and things were great in truth better then when we were toghether, so last febuary i lost my job through no fault of my own and joined onto job seekers benefit as my income was now reduced to €204.30 now if you do the maths that cuts it very short to pay rent of €650 a month and eat and pay bills, so i was informed about rent allowance so i did all the usual forms with revenue, council housing lists etc and cued for 2hrs in my local welfare office and when i was seen they CWO seemed like a nice guy told me he was granting my my full rent allowance of €650 for the first 3 months and then €420 (i think) on the 4th month and after that, so with what little money i had left i paid off some bills thinking all was fine, that was on a monday and on thursday i got a letter from the HSE saying that my application had been declined on the ground is was co-habitting with my "girlfriend" so very quickly i picked up the phone and left a voicemail with the CWO and he called me back said he talked to the landlords partner (not the actual landlord) and she informed him that we were a couple living together so he presumed i fraudulantly filled out the form and declined it on those grounds, he told me to fill out an appeal and that they usually sided with the person appealing, now my arguement is that ive seen my landlord twice since i moved in now 13 months ago as he stays away once his money is there and seems like a genuine family man so he or his partner was never around to be informed of the updated living arrangements (but would have been had he been at the house and seen)

Its now 6 weeks later and still no sign of a yes or no from the appeal board ive rang them 3 times now, and everytime i rang ive been told they are STILL waiting from the file from the CWO has anyone been down this road before? the last time i rang the lady on the phone did say they sent reminders to the CWO about the appeal, to say im stressed is an understatment, i cant even get a job in tesco to ease the financial burden


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## cleverclogs7 (29 May 2009)

I feel for you as im going through simular.im on the R/A and the other day i got a letter to say in a nut shell that i was living with a man.    not true.im single and i live with my 2 girls.i had to write a letter explaining everything.i told my welfare office that i let my youngest daughters dad visit(unemployed ) and he does stay over on occasion.seperate bedroom of course.im waiting to see the out come.i dont understand why these things happen.i have no problem what so ever to allow a welfare officer come into my home and look around if needed.i have nothing to hide and im pretty bumbed that they pick on people who actually need help  when theres so many people who are cheating the system.i hope everything works out for you.but probably best to find you own place to rent.


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## samanthajane (29 May 2009)

Well the 2 of you are in the minority, as i'm sure you are well aware false claims are everywhere. Very unfair on the honest people, but it's a good sign that they are at least trying to do something about it. 

Andy-i think your best option is to find somewhere else to live...appeals take forever there is no set time limit on when yours will be heard. Not that i think your lying but just from an outside view...it's very possible you could still be together and just moved all your things into another room while still sleeping in the same room. How do you prove your not? How do they prove that you are? 

I once heard that you dont have to prove that your not... the social have to prove that you are, and apart from having them come and live with you or a live feed from both rooms i'm stumped on how they could ever prove this. But i bet things wont go in your favour espicially since at one time you were in a relationship together. It is unfair but i wouldn't hold out much hope of winnings your appeal. 

cleverclogs7- things like this really peeve me off!! Bascially your childrens father is still an active part of their lives and needs to stay over for one night every now and again in a seperate room and your being subjected to this from them. Ill be 99.9% sure that someone made a complaint against you, other wise how would they know that he did stay over time to time. You are entitled to have a guest stay over for a max 3 nights a week weather it be a friend, an ex-partener or a current partner, and it should have no bearings on your entitlements what so ever.


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## cleverclogs7 (29 May 2009)

No one in the neighbour knows im on welfare.i keep to myself and dont offer info to people.thats what has me wondering. my daughters dad isnt from ireland.But he does live with my parent when he's here.he got a speeding ticket a month ago.going a few km over the limit and he gave my address as he didnt want my parents to know.but i dont think that has anything to do with it.he now stays away from the house and the girls are so upset.we split almost 4 yrs ago but remain good friends as he came out of the closet if you get my drift. this is beyond stressfull.


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## cleverclogs7 (29 May 2009)

Andy read the following,it may be of some use.
[broken link removed]


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## orma (29 May 2009)

This might help too. www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/cohabit.aspx


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## cleverclogs7 (29 May 2009)

very interesting .but under the freedom of information act section 7 and 18 shouldnt people like us be able to view our file with the s.w ?


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## orma (29 May 2009)

Part 1. Freedom of Information (FOI) 
1.1 Rights under the Acts 

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 1997 established three new statutory rights:
a legal right for each person to access information held by public bodies; 
a legal right for each person to have official information relating to him or herself amended where it is incomplete, incorrect or misleading; and, 
a legal right to obtain reasons for decisions affecting oneself. 

The Acts assert the right of members of the public to obtain access to official information to the greatest extent possible consistent with the public interest and the right to privacy of individual


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## cleverclogs7 (29 May 2009)

orma said:


> Part 1. Freedom of Information (FOI)
> 1.1 Rights under the Acts
> 
> The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 1997 established three new statutory rights:
> ...


 

yup thats what i saw which got me thinking that peeps like myself who are accused of something thats false.should be able to see exactly whats in there file.but,how could i be sure that some info isnt removed .would it be worth my while or not ?


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## orma (29 May 2009)

Why not? There may be some information in your file you can contest. There is a site relating to FOI. www.foi.gov.ie


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## cleverclogs7 (29 May 2009)

Thanks orma  you have been very helpful.have a great weekend.


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## andy (29 May 2009)

thanks very much for the replys guys i guess il have to sit this one out, im in a bit of a catch 22 situation as i cant afford to move out at the minute unless i can get a job again and by god im trying at that bit of a pain when you go from a decent wage to nothing, i rang them again today and was told i sould have some more information by the end of next week its just a real pain at the minute i know of two couples both with false claims for rent supplement in and there really getting under my skin when decent ppl get turned down for genuine cases  i wouldnt mind anyway but my ex girlfriend is only on minimum wage and according to the documents by the HSE its only €11 a week less than house sharings rent supplement


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## andy (16 Jun 2009)

well just to update this i got a phone call at the end of last week to say i had won my appeal and they would pay my full rent for the first 4 months then reduce the amounts to €4-- (cant remember the exact figure) for every month on and after the fifth month, now the bit i dont get and perhaps somebody can shed some light on this is it should have been back dated to when i lost my job as thats what i was granted initially by the cwo however today i checked my bank and there was only half the ammount i was expecting as they only lodged €1144 i know they take €20 or somethin out of it per week but by my calculations:

lost my job in late febuary so i should have gotten:
March €650
April €650
May €650
June €650
€2400 less the weekly deductions

I have left a voicemail on the cwo's answering machine so im waiting to hear back but have i worked this out wrong or whats happening?


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## andy (16 Jun 2009)

well no call back today to let me know is happening


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## Bronte (17 Jun 2009)

You've posted that you pay 650 rent, but there is a ceiling on what a single person can pay in rent and also there is a weekly/monthly deduction.  I do know that the weekly/monthly deduction was increased in the last month or so therefore the tenant pays more of the rent and also that the amount of rent previously paid was reduced by 8 to 10 percent.  Why don't you have a chat with the social welfare and they may be able to explain it to you or try www.welfare.ie


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## andy (17 Jun 2009)

yes but what i was told was that they would pay my rent in full for the first 4 months and then it drops down after that to €420 or there abouts, ive left another voicemail there this morning on the cwo's phone lets see if he calls back today  in the meantime im gonna ring the welfare office


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## gipimann (18 Jun 2009)

Rent is never paid in full - there is always a minimum deduction (was €18 pw, now €24pw) which the tenant must pay themselves.  Depending on income, other deductions may also apply.

As Bronte said, there are maximum rent limits in place as well - for example the maximum for a person sharing in Dublin was 98 euro per week up to June.  Rent Supplement generally isn't payable at all if the rent exceeds this amount, but if the supplement is granted, the amount paid is based on this maximum.


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## menna (18 Jun 2009)

hi can i ask u all something im a single mum of to kids the only money i get is my lone parent  and my hubby gives me e80 4 kids  i got my rent allowance my rent is 170 and i have to pay 116 they pay 54 does this sound right ore should they pay more


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## cleverclogs7 (20 Jun 2009)

Andy congrats on the appeal.i got my letter abou 3weeks back to say they will cntinue to pay my R/A (hope it was a misunderstanding on there part)hope you get the rest sorted out and wish you well.


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## gipimann (20 Jun 2009)

menna said:


> hi can i ask u all something im a single mum of to kids the only money i get is my lone parent and my hubby gives me e80 4 kids i got my rent allowance my rent is 170 and i have to pay 116 they pay 54 does this sound right ore should they pay more


 
Your maintenance is assessed as additional income when calculating rent supplement so that probably explains why the amount of your payment is reduced.  In addition, you have to pay 24 euro per week yourself.


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## menna (21 Jun 2009)

lol i got a letter to say i have to pay 24e towards rent but when they send me out the cheak it was for 54e and i had to pay 116e  so i dont no i dont get it lol


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## shelly (16 Jul 2009)

Hi Samantha,

you posted earlier

"You are entitled to have a guest stay over for a max 3 nights a week weather it be a friend, an ex-partener or a current partner, and it should have no bearings on your entitlements what so everYou are entitled to have a guest stay over for a max 3 nights a week weather it be a friend, an ex-partener or a current partner, and it should have no bearings on your entitlements what so ever". 
Does anyone have any information on this policy if so Id be grateful, in particular is it in writing anywhere??

Thanks,
Shelly.


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