Does anyone have any info on Lone Parent Rent Allowance?

hacked

Hey all,

I'm currently 33 weeks pregnant and on my own. I've been on rent allowance in Bray for the last while renting a (seriously overpriced) 2 room flat.
This is the second flat I have lived in in this particular building (first was a bedsit) and have had non stop problems. The new place I've only been in a couple of months, but thought it would be slightly better as it's an extension on an older building. Not so.

I am looking to move to a 2 bed apartment once baby comes as the current place is too small, however, I'm having some serious problems with the flat and don't feel comftorable waiting. Bathroom is very cold and damp and there is mold growing on the walls. It's an ensuite, and there is a door in the bedroom leading out to the back garden. This is obviously not sealed properly as there has been water seeping in under the door which has saturdated bedroom carpets and curtains. Because of the damp the bathroom door wont even close anymore...double the damp, and cold coming in on the cot. I'm having to move the cot out of the bedroom as I am afraid it will get warped and the mattress will turn mouldy, but there is not any room for it in the living room/kitchen area.

So my question is...what can I do about the LP allowace? I've heard that you can get it a few weeks before babs is born, but I don;t know if that is true. Given the current situation I do not feel comftorable bringing a newborn into the flat. Does anyone know if there's anyway I could get rent allowance a little early or if I would be allowed find a place in advance, put a holding deposit down (with my own cash) and have a CWO agree to the amount in advance??

Sorry for the lifestory, first time mum and a little stressed!!

smelltheglove

As far as I know loen parents and rent allowance are handled seperately. Your rent allowance should continue on and you apply for lone parents ontop of it. Its been a long time since I was on lone parents but it didnt come through until my baby was around 3 months old, it was back dated though.

Call your hse officer who looks after your rent allowance and they should be able to advice you re finding better accomodation. When you receive rent allowance there is a certain amount that you have to pay yourself towards the rent, you may find that this amount may be reduced as you will have a dependant but I dont think they will take that into considerration until the child is born.

hacked

Hey, thanks for the reply

Lone Parent Allowance and the lone parent/single parent rent allowance are different as far as I know. You will get more money once you have a dependant.

I was under the impression it was the same as just rent allowance for a single person? I didn't wait for weeks on mine, I just found the place and went down to the CWO to get an ok on it. Hmm...this is confusing!

smelltheglove

Lone parent allowance is a weekly payment to support parent and child. If you are receiving dole I think you get lone parents and half rate dole then rent allowance is seperate. The rent allowance is calculated in the amount of money you are receiving and the amount of dependants you have, ie they wouldn't give a single person rent allowance for a 4 bedroom house, the accomodation should be suitable so you would be Ok to get a 2 bed. The hse officer will be able to tell you specifics but that's the jist of it.

lalalulu

Hi Hacked. Are you asking can you get rent allowance for you and your child dependent a few weeks early? If you speak to your cwo and explain the situation i'm sure it's possible. When i applied for rent allowance i was 8 months pregnant and they allowed me to move into the apartment before the baby was born. I really think sometimes it depends on the cwo and how accomadating they want to be.

hacked

thanks lala. Yeah, I just have some concerns about my current flat! It's too small anyway. The Landlord came down today and a lot of the water has evaporated, so its just damp now as opposed to saturated, andthe swell of the door has gone down a bit. There are constant problems though, and the damp and the mould i nthe building make me sick, so I just worry what it could do to a baby's lungs!

I'm viewing a place on Friday, so I'll let you know if it works!

lalalulu

Best of luck Hacked.. Do let's know how you get on.. x