Question about rent allowance

[François]

Thankfully I am still in employment but I will probably be renting a place in the next while.

If I was to be made redundant, would I qualify for any sort of rental assistance on job seekers allowance or is there a specific criteria I would have to meet.

How does rent allowance work?

Fran

 

[gipimann]

Have a read here for information on Rent Supplement

 

[brendan09]

its a means tested supplment ,
max 500€ rental pm allowed
with max allowance of 81€ weekly on that....

 

[gipimann]

Brendan09,
Where did you get those figures?

The maximum rent limit varies from county to county and is based on family size - €500 is not a general limit. For example, the limit for a single person in Dublin is €115 per week at the moment (it will be changing in June).

 

[Airtight]

What would it be for a family in Dublin? Based on a family of 2 adult & 2 children?

 

[gipimann]

All of the rates can be found at the end of this page -

Rent Supplement - Max Rent Limits at May 2009

Apologies, I mis-quoted a figure earlier - it should be 130 for a single person in Dublin, not 115 (so Brendan09's 500 amount is closer to the mark - sorry Brendan09).

 

[Airtight]

All of the rates can be found at the end of this page -

Rent Supplement - Max Rent Limits at May 2009

Apologies, I mis-quoted a figure earlier - it should be 130 for a single person in Dublin, not 115 (so Brendan09's 500 amount is closer to the mark - sorry Brendan09).

Do the figures contained also reflect the entitlement of people with a mortgage?

 

[gipimann]

No, the figures refer to maximum rent limits for Rent Supplement only.

There are no set maximum limits for Mortgage Interest Supplement, although if the interest portion of a mortgage is very high, it may be compared to the equivalent rent limit before deciding on whether a payment may be made or not. (one of the qualifying criteria for Mortgage Interest Supplement is that the interest must be "reasonable", but that's not quantified in legislation).