[Advice Wanted] Why won't people accept rent allowance?

Mr Tim Buktoo

whats the story with landlords not accepting rent allowance. just been looking on daft.ie. most ppl dont want to now. whats that about then

Stabshauptmann

They're not registered landlords

zAbbo

Perhaps they see tenants who have an allowance of 500-600 euro undiserable when renting an apartment of 1200+

Most landlords want guaranteed income, but at the moment I think they should just take what they can get!

mikemac

Kaptain Redeye wrote: »

They're not registered landlords

Not always the case. Many registered landlords assume that people on rent allowance are not good tenants. There are many horror stories out there of rent allowance tenants and this affects everyone.

OP, if you had a choice between a person working in permanent and professional job or a student or unemployment person who would choose?

All could have houseparties and be short of money but you know well what most landlords will do.

Cookie_Monster

Is rent allowance the same thing as the rent tax credit?

from what i can make of it the credit only affects the tax YOU pay in the same way as your PAYE credit or sinlge person credit etc.

Why would landlords not want to allow this, or am i wrong altogether?

Meathlass

Everyone who pays tax qualifys for RENT RELIEF. You let revenue know the address of your landlord, they give you the relief and chase the landlord for tax if they're not paying it on the rent. The revenue loves people claiming rent relief so they can keep their database of landlords up to date. Even if your landlord isn't registered for tax it won't affect you getting rent relief. Obvioulsy you can only claim tax relief if you pay tax in the first place so full time students etc wouldn't apply. So you're right you pay less tax each week.

RENT ALLOWENCE is offered to people who otherwise couldn't afford a home - long term unemployed, disibility, single parents etc. A landlord is under no obligation to accept rent allowence but many do as it is a guaranteed source of income as I think the health board pays the landlord directly. Usually the tenant has to make up a portion of the rent themselves. On the other hand many landlords don't want rent allowence tenants for whatever reason. If people are unemployed they might stay at home much more ie. more wear and tear on fixtures, may be an unfair assumption but within a landlords rights to not accept rent allowence.

You don't have to tell a landlord you are claiming rent relief.

the_syco

Simple: a lot of rent allowance people don't have a job, usually due to illness, pysical disabilty, etc. Unfortunately, the landlord is not the Saint Vincent de Paul, so can decide he needs the full rent. There has been many horror stories about people on rent allowance not being able to pay the rent that they don't get, so... they get turfed out.

Landlords want someone who will stay a long time, and pay the rent in full every week/month/etc. 90% is not enough, esp as they can get the full amount off someone who works full time.

MysticalSoul

My parents rent a house out, and the people living there could not work, so they accept Rent Allowance, however as it comes from the HSE, they are very often waiting up to 3 months before they receive the rent, so I imagine that is a very valid reason for not accepting RA.

Tzetze

Cross-posting this from (edit) an accommodation thread...

Putting a blanket ban on rent allowance from the offset cuts off a lot of potentially great tenants. I think it's a dreadful vetting procedure that's grossly unfair. It seems to me that a lot of landlords just tag on the 'no rent receipts' without thinking it through. It could well be that lot of landlords have been burned in the past - surely that's more indicative of their interviewing techniques and skills rather than the undesirability of the entire long-term unemployed/disabled community?

KStaford

I have been a mature student for the past 4 years and always fell victim to the dreaded "no rent allowance" clause. I am very quiet, I do not drink, I do not smoke, I have no dependents, I keep a place very tidy often beyond the terms of an agreement (I do stuff like clean gutters, weed etc). I have great references from previous tennencies. But I have found it difficult to move beacause of the "rent allowance not accepted" issue.

The_Conductor

The reason a lot of landlords don't accept rent-allowance, is two fold. In the first instance, there have been a sizeable number of cases where tenants in receipt of rent-allowance have not taken proper care of the landlords property (secure in the knowledge that the deposit belongs to the HSE, and not them directly). The bad behaviour of a few tenants has seriously coloured people's views of the group of tenants as a whole.

On a seperate note: there are big problems with serious delays in payments on the rent-allowance scheme. Why should a landlord be forced to wait, sometimes for months on end, while the HSE/Council shuffles its paperwork? Its simply not worth the hassle.......

On a personal note- I was asked to accept rent-allowance while renting a room under the rent-a-room scheme. I refused. Its simply not worth the trouble.

Mr Tim Buktoo

i thought the checks come to the tenant and not the landlord. i have received rent allowance a few years ago when i came back from australia and i got the check sent to me. maybe its changed