Rent Allowance (re-visited!)

Celvapan

Hi Guys,

I know there has been quite a number of posts on rent allowance here already but I don't think any of them have dealt with this...apologies if they have Although this might have some useful info if you are applying for RA also :rolleyes:

I am currently in the process of applying for rent allowance: i was made redundant 2 months ago and first went to see the Community Welfare Officer 3 days after being laid off. He gave me a couple of forms to fill out and told me that I "should put my name on the social welfare housing list" and said (and I quote) "But since you have only just been made redundant, you are in no rush." Now from this I took it that this was not a major part of the process of applying for RA. So after moving house to be within the limits of RA in my area and after getting my landlord to fill in the relevant form, I went back to the CWO last week. There was a different person standing in for him, and she told me that BEFORE I can apply for RA I MUST apply for council social housing. She also said that RA cannot be backdated and that they will not give me RA until my need is assessed by the council. Needless to say, I was less than pleased that I was not informed this last time I visited the CWO...

First of all can i ask, am I the only person finding it next to impossible to get all the required information on the social welfare system in this country?? This is not the first time I have not been given all the information after asking about what I need to do.

Since meeting with the CWO, I have printed off the councils social welfare housing form and filled it out...I had to get the Revenue to sign and stamp it and I also had to get a garda to sign it...I have rang the council to see what documentation they require and I have to give them a copy of my birth cert, passport, statement of weekly rent from landlord, proof of social welfare and a copy of my bank statement from the past 3 months....There will probably be more documents required when i go to submit it tomorrow...

My second question is, what do they need a 3 month bank statement for? To make sure that I don't have millions in the bank? I have some savings (which I am currently using to live on) but I am worried that I will not be deemed as having a high need for housing since I probably have enough savings to last me until christmas. Has anyone else given in a bank statement and what do they do with it?

The council has also told me that there is a 2 month waiting list to be assessed so by that time I will have been waiting four months to see if I qualify for rent allowance (if i am deemed to have a need for social housing) all because I was not given all the information in my first visit to the CWO. I am not sure then how long it takes to be assessed by the HSE.

Has anyone else gone through the whole process and how long did it take? And how are you deemed as having a need for social housing?? I'm sure everyone needs a roof over their head?

snubbleste

Were you renting for 6 months in the past year and able to prove it? This would be the alternative to going down the social housing application route.

Your local authority should have a website outlining their criteria surrounding assessment and thresholds for social housing. Social housing is means-tested, that's why they need proof of all assets and income.

The CWO will ask the same when applying for rent supplement. By defintion rent supplement is payable when you cannot afford to pay for accomodation from your own resources. If you qualify for social housing and then apply successfully for rent supplement, it will only be backdated to the date of assessment by the local authority.

This information is not difficult to locate. The Dept. have a very helpful portal at welfare.ie
There are plenty of other links in the sticky at the top of this forum.

Celvapan

snubbleste wrote: »

Were you renting for 6 months in the past year and able to prove it? This would be the alternative to going down the social housing application route.

Yes I have been renting accomodation for the past 10 years and can prove that I have been renting for the past 6months, no problem. What "alternative" to social housing are you suggesting? I have been told that before I can apply for RA I must apply for social housing.

analbeads

what area are you in? 2 months waiting list jus for a 5-10 interview is crazy! have you tried ringing them and ask if you can be seen sooner? when i applied in my area it took about 4 days to be called

Balagan

Celvapan wrote: »

Yes I have been renting accomodation for the past 10 years and can prove that I have been renting for the past 6months, no problem. What "alternative" to social housing are you suggesting? I have been told that before I can apply for RA I must apply for social housing.

All info here re Rent Supplement http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/SupplementaryWelfareAllowance/Pages/RentSupplement.aspx

smelltheglove

I think dealing with the social welfare people can be a nightmare, our relieving officer says one thing one day and something entirely different the next day. When my husband lost his job we were told we didnt need to be on the housing list as we had been renting for more than 6 mths so were entitled to the supplement straight away, he said if after a year we were still not sorted then we would have to go on the housing list. 3 mths later our rent was put under review as we were not on the list, we had to wait for a month to be interviewed by someone in the council who was a nightmare to deal with tbh. We have gone the last 6 wks without money as his job seekers is under review as he is now out of work for a year, the relieving officer wouldnt give him any money even though the social welfare office said it was his job to do so, after visiting him 4 or 5 times apparently there is a cheque in the post all the while we are living off money borrowed to keep us going.

Point is, the whole system is a nightmare, my advice is keep copies of every piece of paperwork you need as it may get lost or they ask you 2 mths later for the same thing, keep your bank statements, yes they do ask for them, constatntly and you will nto receive your entitlements without them. With regard to your savings, 10k of savings makes a difference of like €5 to your payments so nothing major to worry about unless you have hundreds of thousands.

Celvapan

analbeads wrote: »

what area are you in? 2 months waiting list jus for a 5-10 interview is crazy! have you tried ringing them and ask if you can be seen sooner? when i applied in my area it took about 4 days to be called

Yeah I rang the council on Friday and they told me that there is a 2 month waiting list. I asked them if there was any way that this could be quickened and she said no, that this waiting list is getting bigger every day due to the current economic climate. When I dropped my form in yesterday, there was a queue of about 6 people and that was while I was there...there were more people joining the queue as I left.

I'm in the west of the country. I'm not from Galway but I did come across this piece in the paper when I was searching for waiting times to be assessed:

http://www.galwaynews.ie/15307-city-housing-list-tops-3000-mark-first-time

How long ago was it since you applied? 4 days sounds like its great going.

Celvapan

Balagan wrote: »

All info here re Rent Supplement http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/SupplementaryWelfareAllowance/Pages/RentSupplement.aspx

Thanks Balagan, I looked at this link a while back. But this just backs up what the first CWO said to me...
"Getting Rent Supplement

Rent Supplement will only be provided if the accommodation is suitable for your needs and the rent is below the maximum rent level set for your county.
You may get Rent Supplement if you have been living for 6 months (183 days) out of the last 12 months in one, or a combination, of the following:

• Accommodation for homeless people
• Private rented accommodation. You can combine time living in more than one rented accommodation to satisfy the 6 months (183 days). You must be able to show that you could afford the rent at the beginning of your tenancy and that you could have continued to pay rent but are unable to do so because of a change in your circumstances which occurred after you started renting.
• An institution, for example, a hospital, care home or place of detention

Or

• Be assessed in the last 12 months by a local authority as being eligible for and in need of social housing. If you don't have a housing need assessment, you must go to the local authority to have your housing need assessed. The local authority must be in the same area that you intend to live and claim Rent Supplement. Only when you are assessed as eligible for and in need of housing can you apply for Rent Supplement. Rent Supplement is not payable while the local authority is carrying out a housing needs assessment. "

I have been told that I must be renting for 6 months out of the previous 12 months AND get assessed by the local authority. Above it says I must be renting for 6 months out of the previous 12 months OR get assessed by the local authority.

Can anyone shed some light on this as I am totally confused now, having been told 2 different stories by 2 different CWO's, one of these stories being backed up on welfare.ie.

snubbleste

Yeah I pointed it out to you in the first sentence in post #2.

Celvapan

snubbleste wrote: »

Yeah I pointed it out to you in the first sentence in post #2.

You pointed what out to me? So is the community welfare officer wrong? Do I not have to be assessed by the local council since I have been renting for 6 out of the past 12 months?

Celvapan

smelltheglove wrote: »

I think dealing with the social welfare people can be a nightmare, our relieving officer says one thing one day and something entirely different the next day. When my husband lost his job we were told we didnt need to be on the housing list as we had been renting for more than 6 mths so were entitled to the supplement straight away, he said if after a year we were still not sorted then we would have to go on the housing list. 3 mths later our rent was put under review as we were not on the list, we had to wait for a month to be interviewed by someone in the council who was a nightmare to deal with tbh. We have gone the last 6 wks without money as his job seekers is under review as he is now out of work for a year, the relieving officer wouldnt give him any money even though the social welfare office said it was his job to do so, after visiting him 4 or 5 times apparently there is a cheque in the post all the while we are living off money borrowed to keep us going.

This sounds like a total nightmare, I really feel for you smelltheglove. Are you still waiting for RA after a year? I really hope that you get it sorted soon.

I think that I have been put in a similar position in that I seem to have been told everything you were told also, that I dont need to go on the council waiting list and i should get it straight away, and then the story has changed to having to apply to the council first. I wish they would just make up their mind, how difficult is it to know the information and answer peoples questions when they meet you? Is this not part of the Community Welfare Officers job??

smelltheglove wrote: »

Point is, the whole system is a nightmare, my advice is keep copies of every piece of paperwork you need as it may get lost or they ask you 2 mths later for the same thing, keep your bank statements, yes they do ask for them, constatntly and you will nto receive your entitlements without them.

Funny you should say this, I starting thinking in the queue yesterday that it wouldn't surprise me if my application gets "lost". I had intended keeping copies of it, but I didnt have access to a photocopier at short notice, but will make sure that I have access from now on.

On a side note, I also went to the Revenue office yesterday to ask them some questions...I ended up telling the person behind the desk more information than she could tell me...Seriously, is there any one that you can go to talk to in this country that actually knows what they are supposed to know?! The only advise she gave me was that I should leave the country...I was not impressed.