# rent allowance,could this be correct?



## thedaras (6 Feb 2009)

Hi, is there any welfare experts who could tell me if the following is correct please.
Lone parent income,includes maintenance (50 )is 280e per week.
Rent per month is 950e.
rent allowence of 604e per month.
Lone parent pays balance of 346 per month or 86.50 per week.
So her total income per week would be 194e.
Would the rent allowence amount be correct based on this information or would she be entitled to any more?

This is not for me,but a friends daughter who is finding it difficult to make ends meet.


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## Imbroke (13 Feb 2009)

*Re: rent allowence,could this be correct?*

Hi,
Im am not an expert but I do Have plenty experience on this matter
There are two issues here.
1. The rent allowance is correct as this is the maximum given.
2. The R.A is given to applicants whose rent does not exceed their means,ie €604. For her to get the allowance in the first place she must not have been totally truthful on her application, but that is not the issue here. However if her SWO finds out, her rent allowance will be cancelled altogether.
She needs to find accommodation in her bracket(€604 or less). Wish her luck as it is almost impossible to find quality accommodation for that money


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## Smashbox (13 Feb 2009)

*Re: rent allowence,could this be correct?*

I agree with the above. My cousin was told that if she was struggling, find a house more suited to her needs ie. smaller, cheaper.

Tell your friend to have a chat with Citizens Advice 
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories


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## gipimann (13 Feb 2009)

*Re: rent allowence,could this be correct?*



thedaras said:


> Hi, is there any welfare experts who could tell me if the following is correct please.
> Lone parent income,includes maintenance (50 )is 280e per week.
> Rent per month is 950e.
> rent allowence of 604e per month.
> ...


 
Can you let me know which county the lone parent is living in please?  It will have a bearing on the calculation (maximum rent limits vary from county to county).  I assume from the figures quoted she has one child.

By the way, in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare, the max rent limit for a lone parent with one child is €953 per calendar month, so there is no reason to assume that there may have been any untruthfulness in the original application.


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## thedaras (13 Feb 2009)

*Re: rent allowence,could this be correct?*

Her total income per month is 1120..
Her rent is 950e per month
Her RA is 604e per month
She lives in wicklow.
Can you help me understand why you think she may have been untruthfull? she has declared her maintenence and doesnt get anything else.
It is almost impossible to get anywhere for 950e,but she did and its a total kip!!
thanks for replies


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## thedaras (13 Feb 2009)

*Re: rent allowence,could this be correct?*



Smashbox said:


> I agree with the above. My cousin was told that if she was struggling, find a house more suited to her needs ie. smaller, cheaper.
> 
> Tell your friend to have a chat with Citizens Advice
> http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories


 
thanks ,its a kip and the last place she was in was a kip too,I guess its the price one pays though...its a basement flat ,dark and horrible,though in fairness she tries to make it nicer.the child sleept in the room with her as there was a drug dealer living in the flat before her and it has been raided constantly,perfectly understandable,but kid was terrified of the raids ,I think it became clear he had moved on after a few raids.her parents say they and her looked hard to get ,one ,a place that was only 950 or under and two ,to get them to take RA and she had to look for months to get the new kip shes in.


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## Smashbox (13 Feb 2009)

*Re: rent allowence,could this be correct?*

It can be hard alright. Could she share a place with someone reliable? Could she get on a council housing list?


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## thedaras (13 Feb 2009)

*Re: rent allowence,could this be correct?*



Smashbox said:


> It can be hard alright. Could she share a place with someone reliable? Could she get on a council housing list?


 
 I understand that she is on a housing list.
Her kid has adhd,dont think anyone would want to share with her,cos kids a bit wild,to be honest..


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## Mommah (13 Feb 2009)

*Re: rent allowence,could this be correct?*

Sorry she is in that predicament .
Its really tough.
My sis is on rent allowance also due to mental disability and found exactly the same issues....living in flea pits with very dodgy characters.

The only solution for us was for us to become her landlord and take the hit on the rent. I don't know if your friend would be in a position to buy a place to rent to their daughter. It's not economical but there is some good value to be had at the moment.


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## thedaras (13 Feb 2009)

*Re: rent allowence,could this be correct?*



Mommah said:


> Sorry she is in that predicament .
> Its really tough.
> My sis is on rent allowance also due to mental disability and found exactly the same issues....living in flea pits with very dodgy characters.
> 
> The only solution for us was for us to become her landlord and take the hit on the rent. I don't know if your friend would be in a position to buy a place to rent to their daughter. It's not economical but there is some good value to be had at the moment.


 
Maybe there will now be pressure on landlords to up the standard of accomodation..
They are definitly not in a position to do buy somewhere,but thanks to all for response..


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## gipimann (14 Feb 2009)

Here's the calculation on rent supplement for you.

The max rent limit for Wicklow is 953 per calendar month, so her rent at 950 is under the limit.   

Weekly rent = 950 x 12 / 52 = 219.23 

Weekly income = 230.30 (One parent income) + 50 (maintenance) = 280.80

She must pay a minimum of €18 per week, plus the amount that her income exceeds the Supplementary Welfare Allowance rate for her family size (which is 230.30).

So her weekly contribution is 50 + 18 = €68 per week.

Rent supplement therefore is 219.23 - 68 = 151.23 per week.

This works out at 604.90 per 4-week period or 655.30 per calendar month.

If the Rent Supplement is paid to her once per calendar month, then she should be getting the higher amount.   If she's getting 604.90, that should be paid to her every 4 weeks (i.e. 13 payments in a year). 

If a property exceeds the maximum rent limit for the county, rent supplement is not payable.   To get around this, some tenants and landlords declare a lower rent to the HSE to get accommodation, and pay extra "under the table" as it were.   This is what the posters might have been thinking about when they saw the figures and mentioned "being untruthful", because obviously there would be extra financial pressure on the tenant if they were doing this.   Given the location and the rent paid, there is no suggestion that this is happening here.


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## thedaras (14 Feb 2009)

Thanks gioiman, will show them this information ,and it looks like she is getting the correct amount.
Will tell her to check how often she gets paid ie;monthly or weekly.
Cheers


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## Imbroke (14 Feb 2009)

gipimann said:


> If a property exceeds the maximum rent limit for the county, rent supplement is not payable. To get around this, some tenants and landlords declare a lower rent to the HSE to get accommodation, and pay extra "under the table" as it were. This is what the posters might have been thinking about when they saw the figures and mentioned "being untruthful", because obviously there would be extra financial pressure on the tenant if they were doing this. Given the location and the rent paid, there is no suggestion that this is happening here.


 Yes gipimann, this is what i meant. Everybody I know who wants to live in any sort of a decent place had to go down this road.
No offence intended


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