Getting extra Rent Supplement for having a child part-time

psychosismoses

i have a question... i recently broke up with my girlfriend and am seeking accommodation but will be applying for rent allowance as im on job seekers allowance. my child will be staying with me every weekend, so i was wondering would i be entitled to rent allowance if i took up residence in a 2 bedroom apartment, and what would the cap be if this is the case. i would move in with people, but after a bad break-up i think i would need my own space for a while. was just wondering am i allowed to have an extra room for my son at weekends, with rent allowance.

edellc

psychosismoses wrote: »

i have a question... i recently broke up with my girlfriend and am seeking accommodation but will be applying for rent allowance as im on job seekers allowance. my child will be staying with me every weekend, so i was wondering would i be entitled to rent allowance if i took up residence in a 2 bedroom apartment, and what would the cap be if this is the case. i would move in with people, but after a bad break-up i think i would need my own space for a while. was just wondering am i allowed to have an extra room for my son at weekends, with rent allowance.

No you are not, legally you are nothing to your child either as you are not married, so unless you have guardianship rights for your child and and joint custody then you are not entitled to extra anything for the child.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schemes/rent_supplement.html

rent supplement info in above link

you will be looking for a single adult in whatever county you are living in.

For the record also, you can not rent anywhere above the threshold for your situation and your country, doing so is defrauding the system and making an unfair system for those on RS who can not add extra apart from what is required by the social welfare.

riclad

Well i hope you are not in dublin, as you ,ll be lucky to get a small flat or bedsit on the ra allowance.
NOT exactly ideal, for a kid to stay in .
Ask the welfare officer,mention i,d like to have my child
stay on weekends.
She what she says.re your rent allowance limit.

you seem very naive,
eg any single man on ra ,with a child
will be given a Large flat , just ,in case they want their child to stay over.
I see no chance of a single person defrauding the system, as each area , has set ra limits.
if flat is 1 euro over the limit,you get no rent allowance

Rent allowance is there to help with rent payments
for basic accomodation needs.

I don,t think any child would find it convenient
to stay in a small flat 2 days a week,
when the mother is staying in a 3bed house.

IF you are in a small town ,you may find it possible
to find a larger flat under ra limits ,maybe.

I.d say the level of fraud for single people on rent allowance is very low.

I,ll think you,ll get the same rent allowance as any single man ,on the dole.
AS the child is living with the mother.

its possible to get ra living in a house ,with the owner ,if the owner will accept ra tenant.
That way you might have more space.

ted1

If you have the child for 2 nights, would you be upset if the child's mother has a 26% cut and ends up some where really bad. This will be your child's primary residence.

riclad

Are you saying ,he ,ll get an extra 25 per cent rent allowance payment in order to get a larger flat so his child can stay day at weekends.?
Which will be taken from the mothers ra allowance.

ted1

riclad wrote: »

Are you saying ,he ,ll get an extra 25 per cent rent allowance payment in order to get a larger flat so his child can stay day at weekends.?
Which will be taken from the mothers ra allowance.

I'm saying the mothers get rent allowance for the child and he is also hoping to get rent allowance for the same child so it should be split.

psychosismoses

well im not trying to defraud the system, but she goes out every weekend, so obviously hes no other choice but to stay with me, anyways i pay my maintenance and love spending time with him, so was just curious. 1 bedroom obviously wouldnt suffice, but she heads out for the whole weekend then its kinda catch 22.

psychosismoses

ted1 wrote: »

I'm saying the mothers get rent allowance for the child and he is also hoping to get rent allowance for the same child so it should be split.

mothers get rent allowance for the property, they get child allowance for the children. if i was living elsewhere it wouldnt have anything to do with her payments.

psychosismoses

riclad wrote: »

Well i hope you are not in dublin, as you ,ll be lucky to get a small flat or bedsit on the ra allowance.
NOT exactly ideal, for a kid to stay in .
Ask the welfare officer,mention i,d like to have my child
stay on weekends.
She what she says.re your rent allowance limit.

you seem very naive,
eg any single man on ra ,with a child
will be given a Large flat , just ,in case they want their child to stay over.
I see no chance of a single person defrauding the system, as each area , has set ra limits.
if flat is 1 euro over the limit,you get no rent allowance

Rent allowance is there to help with rent payments
for basic accomodation needs.

I don,t think any child would find it convenient
to stay in a small flat 2 days a week,
when the mother is staying in a 3bed house.

IF you are in a small town ,you may find it possible
to find a larger flat under ra limits ,maybe.

I.d say the level of fraud for single people on rent allowance is very low.

I,ll think you,ll get the same rent allowance as any single man ,on the dole.
AS the child is living with the mother.

its possible to get ra living in a house ,with the owner ,if the owner will accept ra tenant.
That way you might have more space.

dont worry im not naive, im just seeing what my options are, citizens information i read alot, just cant seem to find anything to help me make a decision on what type of accommodation to find. im not interested in defrauding the system as im very grateful for it when im out of work, to which i am now.

psychosismoses

edellc wrote: »

No you are not, legally you are nothing to your child either as you are not married, so unless you have guardianship rights for your child and and joint custody then you are not entitled to extra anything for the child.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schemes/rent_supplement.html

rent supplement info in above link

you will be looking for a single adult in whatever county you are living in.

For the record also, you can not rent anywhere above the threshold for your situation and your country, doing so is defrauding the system and making an unfair system for those on RS who can not add extra apart from what is required by the social welfare.

the system is unfair due to the government anyway, these days they seem to be defrauding the ones on rent allowance by lowering the cap, and landlords not taking the rents down as with most cases i know of, causing the people on rent allowance to pay the extra out of there own pocket, so really the government is screwing the poorest of people.

zef

Hi, Afaik there is a small allowance available to the parent the child is not living with full time if that parent takes the child on a regular weekly basis.
I person I know is a divorced father. He takes his daughter while her mum is in college, and overnights regularly. He got 30e extra towards rental of a suitable property.
Another friend is a single mum, and her son would regularly stay with his dad, he got an allowance of 30e for this.
I think it is only fair that a child see its dad regularly, and it's good that you give your ex partner a break every weekend because parenting alone can be stressful and difficult at times.
If you got a 1bed place, could you get a camp bed/ futon and let your son sleep in the bedroom? Years ago this was the option myself and ex-partner took when we were renting in 'flatland', 1 bed flat with kids in the bedroom, us on a futon.
Good luck with your search anyway OP.

edellc

zef wrote: »

Hi, Afaik there is a small allowance available to the parent the child is not living with full time if that parent takes the child on a regular weekly basis.
I person I know is a divorced father. He takes his daughter while her mum is in college, and overnights regularly. He got 30e extra towards rental of a suitable property.
Another friend is a single mum, and her son would regularly stay with his dad, he got an allowance of 30e for this.
I think it is only fair that a child see its dad regularly, and it's good that you give your ex partner a break every weekend because parenting alone can be stressful and difficult at times.
If you got a 1bed place, could you get a camp bed/ futon and let your son sleep in the bedroom? Years ago this was the option myself and ex-partner took when we were renting in 'flatland', 1 bed flat with kids in the bedroom, us on a futon.
Good luck with your search anyway OP.

Can I just say the word highlighted says it all...DIVORCED, the OP wasnt married, and unless he went to court to seek guardianship of his child then he has no rights to this child at all..none

the other person you speak about obviously has gone through the court process to gain guardianship

so the first thing he needs to do is go to court and get guardianship then look for custody set out by the courts...only then will the swo listen to any request for extra money for a room for the child to stay in a weekends

However if he is to go for guardianship then his ex girlfriend has every right to look for maintenance from him towards the child the other 5days

And both are within their rights to do so

dubstarr

I know someone single dad wasnt married and was allowed extra cause his sons stays every weekend.Just ask they can only say no.

psychosismoses

edellc wrote: »

Can I just say the word highlighted says it all...DIVORCED, the OP wasnt married, and unless he went to court to seek guardianship of his child then he has no rights to this child at all..none

the other person you speak about obviously has gone through the court process to gain guardianship

so the first thing he needs to do is go to court and get guardianship then look for custody set out by the courts...only then will the swo listen to any request for extra money for a room for the child to stay in a weekends

However if he is to go for guardianship then his ex girlfriend has every right to look for maintenance from him towards the child the other 5days

And both are within their rights to do so

i was thinking of going to court for guardianship purposes, do you know how much it is to get that declaration signed.. i do pay maintenance every week and im always there for the 2 of them as we have a great relationship since the break up. would the maintance be more or something, cause im on benefits at the moment, but we agreed on 25 a week.

edellc

I have no idea of how much it cost, give the family law courts a quick ring and they will tell you.

As for maintanence payments again nobody on the internet can answer this for you its a matter for the courts and would probably be means tested so your best to start going through the process, if you on good terms with the ex then I suggest you let her know and let her know why your doing it so it doesnt come as a surprise in the door that may start tensions flaring.

zef

For gaurdianship in family law courts you will need to see if you are able to get Legal Aid - its 'free' but costs 50e.
Thats the first step, then pick a solicitor that accepts L.A.- they give you a list of co-operating solicitors.

Equality

I had cause to read the Social welfare rules on maintenance recently. SW won't compel the dad to pay maintenance if he is on social welfare himself, as their own rules say
a person on means tested social welfare does not have enough income to be able to pay maintenance.

The local court can order the dad to pay maintenance, and can order up to 150/week, but this only happens if mum takes dad to court for maintenance. If he is on social welfare, it would usually be less than 30/week, as he must be left with enough to live on himself.

If dad gets rent allowance for a flat for two people, this has no impact on mum's rent allowance. These are two separate claims for two unconnected people.

If dad includes his child on his application for rent allowance, he can get a two bed place and has the higher limit, that of a single parent with one child, even though he only has the child part of the time.

Being married/divorced/single is not relevant for this issue, it is having the child that is relevant.

psychosismoses

Equality wrote: »

I had cause to read the Social welfare rules on maintenance recently. SW won't compel the dad to pay maintenance if he is on social welfare himself, as their own rules say
a person on means tested social welfare does not have enough income to be able to pay maintenance.

The local court can order the dad to pay maintenance, and can order up to 150/week, but this only happens if mum takes dad to court for maintenance. If he is on social welfare, it would usually be less than 30/week, as he must be left with enough to live on himself.

If dad gets rent allowance for a flat for two people, this has no impact on mum's rent allowance. These are two separate claims for two unconnected people.

If dad includes his child on his application for rent allowance, he can get a two bed place and has the higher limit, that of a single parent with one child, even though he only has the child part of the time.

Being married/divorced/single is not relevant for this issue, it is having the child that is relevant.

that helps alot, thanks. is this info on citizens information.

riclad

i know a bloke, he saw his daughter every week,
he was happy.Maybe saw her, 1 or 2 day,s a week.HE was never really in a serious relationship with the mother,
maybe going out for 7 months.She never asked him for any financial support,living with her mother at home.
HIS mother put him under pressure to go to court .
to get formal acess visitation hours etc.
SO the mother ,because he was bringing her to court,
asked him for financial aid child support ,
now hes paying child support,
the mother and child lives 70 miles from where he lives.Before he went to court she allowed him to see his child, x hours per week,
they had no formal legal agreement
,his mother wanted a more formal written agreement
re visitation rights
AND even a bloke on the dole, has to pay 20 - 30
per week child support .
Most women on welfare ,single mothers do,nt bother
going to court ,to ask for child support.
its a lot of bureaucracy ,red tape involved etc
The market in dublin is limited re rent allowance ,
ie an extra 30 ra will not gaurantee you a large flat.
'You could buy a small sofa bed ,fold out unit as in previous post.
if the mother goes you to court ,
she can ask for 30 euro a week approx, and she,ll
likely get it unless shes on a high income herself.
I dont understand what does, gaurdianship mean ,
i assume the mother has full custody at the moment.
I,M not an expert my advise is not to go to court ,unless you have a specific legal reason to do so ,
There,s free legal advice centres you can go to for advice
,if you want to think about it.
IF in the future ,your visitation time is limited ,
you ,ll have the option of going to court.

psychosismoses

riclad wrote: »

i know a bloke, he saw his daughter every week,
he was happy.Maybe saw her, 1 or 2 day,s a week.HE was never really in a serious relationship with the mother,
maybe going out for 7 months.She never asked him for any financial support,living with her mother at home.
HIS mother put him under pressure to go to court .
to get formal acess visitation hours etc.
SO the mother ,because he was bringing her to court,
asked him for financial aid child support ,
now hes paying child support,
the mother and child lives 70 miles from where he lives.Before he went to court she allowed him to see his child, x hours per week,
they had no formal legal agreement
,his mother wanted a more formal written agreement
re visitation rights
AND even a bloke on the dole, has to pay 20 - 30
per week child support .
Most women on welfare ,single mothers do,nt bother
going to court ,to ask for child support.
its a lot of bureaucracy ,red tape involved etc
The market in dublin is limited re rent allowance ,
ie an extra 30 ra will not gaurantee you a large flat.
'You could buy a small sofa bed ,fold out unit as in previous post.
if the mother goes you to court ,
she can ask for 30 euro a week approx, and she,ll
likely get it unless shes on a high income herself.
I dont understand what does, gaurdianship mean ,
i assume the mother has full custody at the moment.
I,M not an expert my advise is not to go to court ,unless you have a specific legal reason to do so ,
There,s free legal advice centres you can go to for advice
,if you want to think about it.
IF in the future ,your visitation time is limited ,
you ,ll have the option of going to court.

i have all the visitation i want, and shes happy with the maintenance, were not the kind of people to go to court,. im not looking for a mansion, would just need a spare room for him whatever days he stays in my place. it could be during the week to as my ex works part-time, so i could take him to school, plus have him at the weekend, so that be 4 days altogether. maby i should be looked at as the primary carer

MariMel

Equality wrote: »

I had cause to read the Social welfare rules on maintenance recently. SW won't compel the dad to pay maintenance if he is on social welfare himself, as their own rules say
a person on means tested social welfare does not have enough income to be able to pay maintenance.

The local court can order the dad to pay maintenance, and can order up to 150/week, but this only happens if mum takes dad to court for maintenance. If he is on social welfare, it would usually be less than 30/week, as he must be left with enough to live on himself.

If dad gets rent allowance for a flat for two people, this has no impact on mum's rent allowance. These are two separate claims for two unconnected people.

If dad includes his child on his application for rent allowance, he can get a two bed place and has the higher limit, that of a single parent with one child, even though he only has the child part of the time.

Being married/divorced/single is not relevant for this issue, it is having the child that is relevant.

I have my son every weekend, 4/5 nights a week during holidays and I am not entitled to claim any extra for him with regards to rent supplement nor additional social welfare payment as my house is not his primary residence.
So I would wonder the truth in the unlined statement in your comment.
Being that each childs pss number will already be attached to one claim.
I was however allowed rent somewhere over the rent maximum for a single person once I accepted that i would have to pay the balance and I agreed to not go in claiming hardship because of having to pay more than €30 a week rent.

I went through the citizens information, the social welfare, community welfare, local tds, senators etc regarding being classed as a single person as opposed to a parent with child, but to no avail.

So OP....if you do get any dispensation regarding your rent supplement or indeed any addition SW payment, please let us know.

riclad

Different area,s may have different policys ,rates for single people who have kids.
i know a single person who ,s renting a house, 65 years old,in a small country town,
i presume he,s on rent allowance.
Lives by himself.
You can get good advice from threshold,OR focuspoint, they both have websites, google them
they can help people , on ra find suitable accomodation .

riclad

I,M NOT an expert ,is every single man who happens to be on ra,
and has a child ,entitled to large 2bed flat on rent allowance.?
it sounds to me, like it might be at descretion of the welfare officer,
to grant extra ra if she thinks its appropriate.

i know rents are much lower outside dublin .
There s not many single,unit, non shared flats in dublin that accept
rent allowance ,
unless a person in that situation can get ra for a 2bed house ,or apartment.
I was asked for co tenants ,date ,of birth, rsi id ,no on a ra form,
i left it blank.
my 2 co tenants were non nationals, working in a call centre.
their date of birth is non of my business.
i,m not their employer, or in a relationship with either of them,
and they are not applying for rent allowance.
I KNEW a good few single mothers,separated from the father ,
there were on ra, at no time did the child stay with the father,not even for 1 day,
the father would visit , maybe to see the child.

psychosismoses

right i think it looks like il be looking for a 1 bedroom palace... thanks for all the posts ;-]

desbrook

Just to bring this up to date separated dads cannot be discriminated against when it comes to ra

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/father-was-not-given-childrens-address-249981.html

http://mercylaw.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/mlrc-welcomes-equality-tribunal-decision-that-rent-supplement-policy-must-not-discriminate-against-unmarried-or-separated-fathers-161213/

Full Decision :

http://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2013/October/DEC-S2013-010.html