Do we have any other options?

Worried123

Hi, this is our situation. Myself and my husband are renting, we have a toddler and another baby on the way. I had to give up work after I had my son as my wages didn't cover the childcare costs. My husband is a co in the civil service.
We were renting a 2 bedroom place up until a few weeks ago, we had to move because after my husbands wage reduction and losing the early childcare supplement we couldn't afford the rent anymore. The landlord offered to take the rent down a bit, but not enough to cover the money we lost.
We looked everywhere for somewhere within our new budget, but the best we could get was a one bedroom apartment.

I'm really upset because I just don't know what we're going to do when the new baby arrives. There isn't room in our bedroom for our toddlers cot, he is sleeping in the bed with us, we might just about be able to fit a moses basket beside the bed for the first few months after the new baby arrives but I don't know what we will do afterwards.

We haven't signed a contract so we can leave if somewhere better turns up, but rent would need to fall a good bit more before we could afford a two bedroom place again.

We're applying for a council house but I know that the waiting list is so long, we haven't got a hope of getting one in the near future.

We're not entitled to rent allowance because my husband is working full time, we get fis but not much. I don't know what to do.

Have we got any other options, are there any solutions out there that I'm just not aware of?

foxy06

Your FIS will increase when the new baby arrives and you will get extra childrens allowance too. Is there any way you could move further away to get a cheaper rent while still being close enough for your husband to commute? Have you any other outgoings?

Worried123

Our fis will increase but from what I understand it won't increase until it is renewed next, which won't be until the baby is 9 months old. The extra childrens allowance we get won't even cover the nappies and clothes and other expenses so we won't be able to rely on it to pay more rent.

Moving further away is our only other option I think, but it's very difficult as we don't have a car. We tried it before when I was pregnant with my son, but without a car it was so tough, there was a half an hour walk to the train station every morning, then an hour and a half on the train, then a luas journey.

Our only other outgoings are the bills, public transport costs, food, clothes etc. We have no loans.

foxy06

Can I ask what your rent is? Is it possible for you to get an evening job? I do some waitressing at night when the husband gets home and without it we would be very stuck. Maybe give MABS a call? Also are you claiming rent relief/Service charges ect?

stepbar

Worried123 wrote: »

Our fis will increase but from what I understand it won't increase until it is renewed next, which won't be until the baby is 9 months old. The extra childrens allowance we get won't even cover the nappies and clothes and other expenses so we won't be able to rely on it to pay more rent.

Moving further away is our only other option I think, but it's very difficult as we don't have a car. We tried it before when I was pregnant with my son, but without a car it was so tough, there was a half an hour walk to the train station every morning, then an hour and a half on the train, then a luas journey.

Our only other outgoings are the bills, public transport costs, food, clothes etc. We have no loans.

Where do you live and where does your husband work? It's very difficult to give a definitive answer unless we know that.

I suppose what I'm getting at is, is there any hope that your husband could apply for a transfer somewhere closer to work?

Quite obviously, beyond the M50, prehaps somewhere like Newcastle, rents are going to be cheaper than say Tallaght.

tedstriker

It was touched on there but ensure that you are claiming all your tax credits. This is easily done on ROS.ie:
http://www.ros.ie/paye/launchPAYEanytime_en.html

You can claim back medical expenses, rent relief, service charges and others so ensure you are getting everything you are entitled to.. and if you aren't then you can go back for up to 3 years. I'm no expert on this area but so many people fail to claim all their credits. Tax credits for a married person is 3,660 and some people still claim as a single person. (this only works out when one person is not working, as in your situation)

Next thing is that you can now be very, very aggressive when looking for a new apartment. I feel your pain, with 1 income it is tough but remember that there are thousands of empty apartments all over the country.

If it says 1000 a month on Daft.ie then offer 700, go onto every apartment on daft.ie that you would like and send in the offer. I know that sounds like a joke but landlords are not shifting a thing. I got an apartment of 1800 down to 1250 6 months ago and if that was now it could have been further. Be very aggressive. I'm not sure what part of the country you are in but rents are down everywhere and they are continuing to go down. As I said, be very aggressive.

Worried123

Thanks for all of your replies. We are living in North County Dublin, my husband works in the city centre, and we're paying €700 for rent. We wouldn't really be able to manage any more than €700. My husband is earning around €26,000.

I was looking for part time work up until recently, but don't think I would be able to manage it now, as I get very sick during pregnancy.

We're claiming all the tax credits we can claim. We get €20 a week fis.

I know if we moved out to balbriggan or meath we could probably afford the rent there, but we would have increased commuting costs, and I would find it hard being trapped there with no car and infrequent buses.

My husband has been on a transfer list for years, it's very unlikely he would get transferred now.

I know people will look down on me for saying this, but I would give anything for him to be made redundant so we could qualify for rent supplement. He has always worked, and always wants to work, but we just can't manage on what he is being paid and there is no hope for the future with the ban on the promotions. At least if he was made redundant we would have our basic needs met.

D3PO

a quick search of daft shows some 2 bed rental properties in dublin for 600 or less a month.

if your not tied to a lease you should look at moving somewhere else cheaper. I assume your husband is claiming all your tax credits ?

i know its terrible to suggest but perhaps your husband could also take on an evening or weekend job ? I know thats really pushing it but needs must...

convert

Have a look at daft or some of the other property websites and see what's out there. The chances are with the economic climate being as it is, you would probably manage to find somewhere for cheaper than you're paying now, whether in your locality or a little bit closer to the city centre.

As you say, I don't know whether moving further out would save you much in the long run when you consider commuting time and transport costs.

Treehouse72

I don't know the Northside, but I think you could get a 2 bed for your budget. For example, on the Southside there are these, which are all in decent enough areas which would no doubt have equivalents on the Northside:

Inchicore, €850
www.daft.ie/2829721

Rathfarnham, €900
www.daft.ie/2838688

Firhouse, €900
www.daft.ie/2844822

Kilmainham, €800
www.daft.ie/2844622

Dundrum, €950
www.daft.ie/2779341

I would say just pick up the phone every day and start offering €700 for any properties like this you see. Stretch to €750 if you like a place. There is a massive oversupply out there and some landlords will go with you as a family with 1 secure income even if it is below their asking price. If they won't accept what you can afford, move on to the next property. I have found rent.ie to be the best rentals website, with a large number of daily updates which you should check/call every day.

http://www.rent.ie/

(I think it mirrors the listings on Daft, but is a bit more user-friendly IMO).

............

By the way, the reason you can't afford better is because of the obscenity of the rent supplement, which at the moment in Dublin puts a floor under rents of €600pm. This is one of the silent scandals of Irish life. With bedsits at that price, it pushes all prices up the ladder higher. It is a sick bloody joke that people who get out of their beds in the morning to go to work are competing with welfare recipients for essentially the same market of rental properties. Jesus Christ I get so angry at the government it gives me unhealthy thoughts sometimes.

mkahnisbent

You should be able to live on his salary.

Will you write down how much income in total you have per month, and list all your outgoings?

PopUp

What are you paying weekly to commute at the moment?

Are you sure you want to rule out Balbriggan? It's only 45 minutes from the city centre on the train and a weekly ticket costs €30. There's lots of young families out there so you might not be as isolated as you think. There's lots of 2 beds listed on Daft at €600 and €650 and you could probably negotiate that down too.

A cursory look at Daft suggests there's 2 beds in Drumcondra, Phibsboro, and Fairview for €600/€650.