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Social housing reassessment rejection advice

  • 26-03-2013 10:18pm
    #1
    gemini_girl
    Registered Users Posts: 234 ✭✭


    Sorry if this is the wrong board. Any advice appreciated please. Basically we (me, husband & 2 kids) applied for social housing 3 years ago. Our application was approved. Since then our circumstances have vastly disimproved. Last year everyone had to be reassessed under new guidelines. Between all the toing & froing this has taken 10 months of sending in more documents etc. In this time we lost our rent allowance as the rent allowance also gets reviewed & we couldnt give them a letter saying we were on waiting list as we were in middle of reassessment. So since the summer we have been scraping by on 372 a week with 200 going on rent. Things are fairly bad financially for us as there is more going out than coming in despite cutting back to bare minimum, we're talking 50 euro a week to feed 4 of us. Anyway we finally got our decision today & they have said our application has been rejected. We are devastated. The lady advised us to appeal the decision as she said our circumstances are much worse now than when we first were approved. What i really want to find out is now that a decision has been made, does this mean that we will not be entitled to reapply for rent allowance? This is putting severe strain on our marraige & I'm worried it'll finish us because the stress & tension is causing arguments & tears etc. Any advice really appreciated please. Thanks


Comments

  • #2
    mp22
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Regional South Moderators Posts: 6,854 Mod ✭✭✭✭mp22


    The social housing decision should not effect rent allowance as far as I know.Apply for it straight away.


  • #3
    Annasopra
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41,104 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    You should be eligible for rent allowance

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



  • #4
    snubbleste
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 31,117 ✭✭✭✭snubbleste


    You are not eligible for rent supplement unless you've a housing need as assessed by the Council.

    Why did it take ten months to get documents? Why were you rejected?
    Make a fresh application for social housing immediately OP.


  • #5
    Annasopra
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 41,104 ✭✭✭✭Annasopra


    snubbleste wrote: »
    You are not eligible for rent supplement unless you've a housing need as assessed by the Council.

    Why did it take ten months to get documents? Why were you rejected?
    Make a fresh application for social housing immediately OP.

    My understanding is that it is either/or?

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

    Have been assessed by a local authority as being eligible for and in need of social housing in the last 12 months. 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 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.

    It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone's fault. If it was us, what did that make Me? After all, I'm one of Us. I must be. I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things.

    Terry Pratchet



  • #6
    gemini_girl
    Registered Users Posts: 234 ✭✭gemini_girl


    snubbleste wrote: »
    You are not eligible for rent supplement unless you've a housing need as assessed by the Council.

    Why did it take ten months to get documents? Why were you rejected?
    Make a fresh application for social housing immediately OP.
    It didnt take us 10 months to get documents together. They kept on adding to the list! We would submit everything they asked for & 6 weeks later get a letter for something else to be submitted. It was ridiculous. We have been refused because some of the documents they asked for we could not provide. The reason we couldnt provide them is because after we got our first approval we then disposed of said documents not thinking we'd need them again. Documents such as receipts for how much we paid for our car in 2006. The letter says we couldve used money from 2006 to help accomodate ourselves. We had already been approved for social housing but refused this time when they reassessed everyone even though we have 25 euro a week to feed a family of 4. Can we be refused based on circumstances 7 years ago?


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  • #7
    snubbleste
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 31,117 ✭✭✭✭snubbleste


    mango salsa wrote: »
    My understanding is that it is either/or?
    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schemes/rent_supplement.html
    We know what that says, but in practice you will be told to be assessed for housing. The OP stated rent supplement was withdrawn due to failure to provide proof of being on the housing list.

    OP, that sounds bizarre. I'd get in touch with Threshold about that timescale for impartial advice and potentially appeal as suggested. The Council are supposed to assess you on your current circumstances, not three+ years ago. Either way, get a new application form and be prepared to begin from scratch.


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