help rent allowance refused!

I'm at a loss as to what to do now ... Myself & my husband moved into a rented house in dec which costs us 1200 a month ... a month later my husband lost his job ... his jobseeker benefit for him & me is 329 euro pw which only came through last week. we signed a contract in our house for 12 months. we applied for rent allowance as our dole only leaves 30 euro a week after our rent is paid. our social welfare officer informed us today that we more than likely will be refused rent allowance as our rent is 1200 & the max they can give us is 800 a month. so my question is what do we do now? how can the social welfare think that we can surive on 30 euro per week ... its impossible. I am also expecting our first baby in 6 weeks so I am unable to work & so far my husband has been unsuccessful in any job he's applied for. I am at my wits ends now as to what to do ... we cannot leave the house we live in as we signed a legal contract which will mean a loss of 1200 deposit if we break it ... can anyone offer any insight or advice please as to what we can do other than start begging! thanks

Speak to your landlord and explain your situation, can you afford to stay on for 1 more month so as to give a months notice? Then go looking for somewhere in budget, some landlords will sign the paperwork stating rent is only 800 euro p/m and you can pay the extra 400 yourself, not condoning it just be aware that its done.

Have you made the application for rent supplement in writing, or was it just a conversation with the CWO? If you haven't completed application forms, then you should do this first.

As part of your application, include the additional information (recent unemployment, baby due, deposit paid and contract signed prior to unemployment) pertinent to your claim.

If you are refused (you should get a written refusal), you have the right of appeal.

For information, the maximum rent limits set by Dept of Social and Family Affairs for Cork are - Couple with no children 153 per week, with 1 child 175 per week. Rent supplement is generally not payable where the rent exceeds these amounts. However exceptions may be made, so its worth your while persuing the claim and the appeal if it comes to it.

Could you sub-let a room in the house to help with the rent?
Does the landlord own other properties with cheaper rent, he/she might allow you to transfer?

I had a similar situation where I moved into a house which was a 3 bed and it was above the rent allowance threshold. I was sharing with my best friend who was paying a third of the rent where I was paying the other two thirds (one room for me, one for my newborn). I went in to apply and was told I wouldn't get rent allowance by CWO as I was only entitled to a 2 bed property under the limit advised. I put it to them in writing that I had saved up for the deposit myself, wasn't aware that you had to apply for RA BEFORE getting a place, and had a lease signed, oil tank filled, would lose deposit etc etc. It was reviewed by the Head CWO who allowed me RA. Best of luck.

All our forms have been submitted to the welfare officer so i cant ask the landlord to change rent amount ... if we break our contract we will lose 1200 euro that we paid ... i looked up daft.ie & searched all properties in cork that are available for 800 euro p/m that the landlord will accept rent allowance/supplement & only one property came up! so how are people expected to find somewhere in that price range! will just have to see what happens & take it from there! thanks for the replies & advice

Hi,

there is a limit for rent allowance. To my knowledge it is 185 € per week. However, the limit to this has to do with this form of allowance. You could regard your situation as hard ship and you may be able to claim supplementary welfare allowance. You can apply for same at your local HSE health centre. The area community welfare officer has clinics and they have some discretion in granting supplementary welfare allowance pending their assessment of your overall financial circumstances. As I do not know whether you have any savings or any other sources of income or any assets you could sell, I am unsure whether you are eligible.

Best of luck!

sallyhunter said:

Hi,

there is a limit for rent allowance. To my knowledge it is 185 € per week.

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The threshold varys, depending on the area you live in.