# How much should a single person on SW pay towards their mortgage?



## Brendan Burgess (20 Dec 2012)

I have been asked to advise a guy who is on Jobseekers Benefit of €188 per week with their mortgage. 

He gets MIS and the bank wants him to pay €70 per week on top. 

This seems way too high to me. 

From gipimann's explanation of MIS, it seems that the Department thinks that it is appropriate to pay around €32 per week towards the cost of the mortgage. 

That seems fair enough to me.  I don't know what interest he is paying or how much MIS he gets yet. 

But someone on social welfare should not be paying more than the interest on the loan in total. Does that seem like a reasonable approach?


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## ClaireM (20 Dec 2012)

Can he afford to pay €70 per week and what have the bank said about the sustainability of the mortgage?

His MIS plus €32 may not be sufficent to cover interest only if all of the mortgage was not used to purchase/repair the home. In that case if he can afford to pay more than €32 and it makes a difference to his long term outcome with the mortgage it might be advisable to do so.


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## Brendan Burgess (20 Dec 2012)

Hi Claire

In my view, the mortgage is clearly unsustainable and he and the bank will have to recognise this eventually. In the meantime, I don't want him to be going hungry because the bank is demanding more than is reasonable. 

Brendan


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## ClaireM (20 Dec 2012)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Hi Claire
> 
> In my view, the mortgage is clearly unsustainable and he and the bank will have to recognise this eventually. In the meantime, I don't want him to be going hungry because the bank is demanding more than is reasonable.
> 
> Brendan


 
If paying more than €32 means going hungry then he can't afford to pay it and shouldn't pay it regardless of the sustainability of the mortgage.

If the mortgage is clearly unsustainable I wouldn't push too hard to pay more than the minimum €32


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## dodo (20 Dec 2012)

a case study would be great ,ie what the mortgage is a month to service,his out goings esb,gas,food etc, but going on what is available he would not be able live on less than the E188 he gets per week, he must eat,heat,and misc himself on E188 he had enough pressure going on in his head and the bank should not put him in a position than he feel totally trapped with no way out, he must put himself first ,


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## SarahMc (20 Dec 2012)

A single person is expected to pay 30e towards their Rent Allowance, so that figure would seem reasonable. Certainly more than a quarter of his payment would be penurious.


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## gipimann (21 Dec 2012)

SarahMc said:


> A single person is expected to pay 30e towards their Rent Allowance, so that figure would seem reasonable. Certainly more than a quarter of his payment would be penurious.


 
A single person is expected to pay €30 plus any income they have in excess of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) rate.   This applies to Rent Supplement and Mortgage Interest Supplement.

In Brendan's example, the mortgagee is on €188 Jobseekers payment - this is €2 above the equivalent SWA rate, so this person is expected to pay €32.


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