Am I misguided in this assumption about rent allowance tennants?

Re: Rent allowance Tenants

Sign, because the landlord has to sign a form for the healthboard.

Ah yes of course :)


But does the tenant have to tell the landlord they are rent allowance tenants when being interviewed for the tenancy ? It would appear to be a clear case of discrimination :confused:
Cant they spill the beans after moving in :confused:
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

I have a small query if anybody can help. Often enough I accept s/w which I have no problem with but here's the thing more often than not the tenant will ask me to fill out a reduced rent figure on the s/w form as they say this is the only way they can get allowance IE: a young girl with one kid wont be entertained for a three bed semi and unless the s/w see its only costing her 1000 as apposed to 1200 its a no no. I usually have no problem doing this as s/w or not I go through a good vetting period before renting to a tenant and I usually end up coming across someone decent. The lease agreement is filled out for the full amount as is the prtb form so I'm not trying to avoid any responsibilities, can anybody see if this could cause problems and how.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

i am only recently separated from my child s father , after been in a realationship for seven years . i am finding it increasingly difficult to set up home with my son , as i am only a first time renter , and would need the assistance of rent allowance , which in most of the houses ive enquired about do not accept.
i think it is understandable , that people have there doubts and that there are some bad eggs out there , but i really think landlords should meet the person first and go on there instincts , instead of shunning them off on the phone ?

has anyone any advice for me ?
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

Dont de discouraged. There are plenty of landlords out there that will be happy to work with RA. You will probably meet many more landlords that will refuse you at the first hurdle so when you meet one that will accept RA you need to make it count. They will be in high demand and you will be competing against many other RA tenants.

My advice from the landlords POV:

1. First impressions are crucial; be in a nice mood when you make that first call. It may be the only chance to make an impression on the landlord. The way the market is now landlords can be choosy - if they dont like the sound of the tenant they can dismiss them and wait for the next one to come along.

2. Make an appt and stick to it. If you are going to be late, let them know. Landlords are understanding once you communicate - if you dont then they think it will be more of the same when you are tenant.

3. Dress nicely, make an effort. If you actually make it to meeting a landlord then act like its an interview. He will be comparing you to every other tenant he has ever met and will probably make his mind up within a few seconds of your arrival.

4. Dont chance your arm. Seriously, the amount of tenants that come up with crazy stories of how they want to pay, or where they last lived or what they do for a living is unreal. The landlord has heard it all before and can smell a rat in an instant.

5. Be organized. When you arrive have your RA form ready to sign. Bring your PPS number and be ready to sign PRTB documents. If you have a deposit even better - but maybe not essential. I generally find that deposit and key are handed at the same time.

6. As regards to RA then you need to have your ducks in a row. If you have never recieved RA before then it will take a while to process this. Dont expect that the landlord will be willing to accept your word that eventually the COCO will approve your RA and pay him in arrears. You may need to provide the money to cover rent and first month deposit up front while you wait for RA to come through. You landlord has probably been burned before and is once bitten twice shy.

7. Do up a budget. Know what RA are willing to give you. Know what the difference if any this is in cost of rent. Can you afford this rent or will you struggle? Make sure to keep in mind the extra expenses of the tenancy - esb, gas, tv licence, cable tv, bin charges...landlord may cover some of these. Maybe you need to look for a smaller place.


Good Luck!
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

We have a rule that we dont accept RAs under any circumstances.
2 out of my 3 partners have trouble with RA recipients in the past.
So much More trouble than with any other type of tennant that they have left an indelible impression on them.

And the trouble isnt just with the tennant. Sometimes it was with The RA officers too. In that they would stop the cheque and the tennant doesnt know why. Also, when things go wrong RA officers just wash their hands and say 'You're problem'.
Also because most RA tennants are at home all the time and can sleep late, they make noise at unsociable hours, which really annoys other people living around them.
My partners insist that nobody on RA ever sets foot inside the doors of our properties.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

6. As regards to RA then you need to have your ducks in a row. If you have never recieved RA before then it will take a while to process this. Dont expect that the landlord will be willing to accept your word that eventually the COCO will approve your RA and pay him in arrears. You may need to provide the money to cover rent and first month deposit up front while you wait for RA to come through. You landlord has probably been burned before and is once bitten twice shy.


An excellent list!! Particularly agree with point 6. I do take people of s/w RA and has been with mixed success, mostly good. But I have always insisted that my contaact is with the tenant and rent must be paid in advance (RA is paid in arrears)....if they can't do a month in advance + deposit then no go!

Interestingly, I had a several people asking me to sign the forms for an amount higher than the rent actually was. I flatly refused saying it was fraud....it would also mean that they would have been pocketing the balance! Called social welfare as I had names and numbers and they said there was nothing they could do:confused: .

Also, I wonder if there is some scam for getting the forms signed. I had one lady insisting I sign her forms and I said not until I recieved the deposit + first month (if I decided to rent to her). She was very pushy and kept insisting I sign and said it woudn;t make any difference to me. Could they be claiming for more than one property or under a false name?
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

Also, I wonder if there is some scam for getting the forms signed. I had one lady insisting I sign her forms and I said not until I recieved the deposit + first month (if I decided to rent to her). She was very pushy and kept insisting I sign and said it woudn;t make any difference to me. Could they be claiming for more than one property or under a false name?

It may have been that the lady wanted to be sure she qualified for Rent Supplement before paying over money to you - nothing more! Apart from persons claiming under false names (which would require false ID, second PPSN etc), a tenant cannot claim rent supplement more than once at the same time, because rent supplement is paid from a single computer system nationwide. Any Community Welfare Officer can see if their applicant has an existing claim in payment elsewhere.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

It may have been that the lady wanted to be sure she qualified for Rent Supplement before paying over money to you - nothing more!

You may be right but I have shown properties to loads of RA people and rented to them and I never had anyone insist like this. She was already in rented accomadation so she knows whe would have qualified and she can always call her SW office and they can clarify. I haven't looked at the form in ages, but I thought the form was only to be signed by the landlord once it was agreed that the person could rent it.

It may have been nothing I just got the feeling there was something up as I didn't think she liked the property as she was viewing it and then suddenly insistied I sign the form.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

Good point about the SW fraud - but I would tend to agree that is pretty difficult to get away with it. I recently had an RA tenant get all signed up and then moved in with a deposit only. I took her word that the RA would go through eventually and I would be paid in arrears. After two weeks she came to me in tears that she couldnt live in the house (long story about feuding families and gunplay) and was sorry. I assumed (wrongly) that RA would still come through and pay me for the two weeks she was living in the house. She told me that no, because she would be moving elsewhere (out of the county) that when she applied for RA at the new dwelling the old application would have to be cancelled. I had to keep a portion of her deposit to cover the rent that was not paid.

I chalked that one down to a life lesson and moved on. It does not mean I am going to shun RA in future, just that I will be more cautious about bending the rules. Im not gonna be a sucker for the sob stories right from the beginning again.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

My opinion and previous experience

rent allowance tenant, never again !! :(
destroyed the place. Was the first and last time.

Never had problems with tenants who earned the rent.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

Never had problems with tenants who earned the rent.


Count yourself lucky. Bad tenants come from all economic classes. I rented to doctors sons once. A year later they had ruined the kitchen, graffiti'd the entire public area of the house, kicked in doors and turned the neighborhood against me - not to mention never paid the rent fully or on time.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

How much do single mothers get under the rent allowance scheme?
presumably it is only non workers that get the rent allowance?
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

the tenant will ask me to fill out a reduced rent figure on the s/w form as they say this is the only way they can get allowance IE: a young girl with one kid wont be entertained for a three bed semi and unless the s/w see its only costing her 1000 as apposed to 1200 its a no no. The lease agreement is filled out for the full amount as is the prtb form so I'm not trying to avoid any responsibilities, can anybody see if this could cause problems and how.

the revenue and s/w are starting to compare records for rent allowance, which will cause you a problem when they see the two different figures.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

My opinion and previous experience

rent allowance tenant, never again !! :(
destroyed the place. Was the first and last time.

Never had problems with tenants who earned the rent.

What would you stance be on tenants who were working and earning the rent themselves, but through no fault of their own became unemployed (redundancy, ill-health, etc) and needed to apply for RA until they could get back to work? Would you chuck them out or refuse to sign the required forms?

Tenants - no matter their economic background - can be either good or bad tenants, depending on the person themselves. Some friends of mine won't entertain the idea of RA tenants at all, and got burned by so called professionals who destroyed their house and had loud parties every night, whereas others are happy to accept tenants so long as they prove themselves to be trustworthy tenants regardless if they're on RA or not.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tennants

im a single mother of 3 boys and trying to find private rented accomadation that accepts rent allowance for quite a while now. but havent been able to. everywhere i look nowhere seems to take rent allowance
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

i know exactly how you feel. im trying to set up a home for me a my 3 sons and as im a first time renter on rent allowance im finding it very difficult for almost all the same reasons as yourself. i think its very unfair. this response is for jennie2007
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

How much do single mothers get under the rent allowance scheme?
presumably it is only non workers that get the rent allowance?

it depends on how many children you have when claiming for r/a as a single parent. ive 3 sons so im allowed 1200 a month. when i only had 1 son i was only allowed 968 a month.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

I have a property up for rent at the moment and about 70% of the calls I'm getting to view it are from people asking do I take rent allowance. I'm not sure what to tell them as I don't fully understand how much these tennants are entitled to from the state and where does the rest of the money come from.

My present point of view is that these tennants would be less desireable due to the fact that -

- If they are on rent allowance, they don't work, and therefore, where do they get the balance of the money, over and above what the state pays them.
- Whilst I'll certainly get the state portion of the rent, I could end up chasing the balance every month from the tennant.


im a single mother and i know that everybody is allowed an amout due to there circumstances. im allowed 1200 as ive 3 sons so if whoever you rent to if there allowed whatever amount your asking of the welfare then they dont have to pay you anything you get the loy of the welfare.
Am I misguided in this assumption about rent allowance tennants?

Any experience/advice greatly appreciated.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

I know of a couple of people who let to rent allowance tennants. Filled in the forms etc only to find out that the rent allowance was not available to the tennant after all.

You can imagine the predicament both tenant and landlord were then in.

Any experience or stories i have of it are to keep well away from rent allowance. Nothing wrong with the recipients, but its just too messy.
 
Re: Rent allowance Tenants

it depends on how many children you have when claiming for r/a as a single parent. ive 3 sons so im allowed 1200 a month. when i only had 1 son i was only allowed 968 a month.

The amounts you've quoted can differ from county to county. The maximum rent limits are included in the following DSFA document. If a person applies for Rent Supplement (which is the proper term for the payment - Rent Allowance is a different scheme altogether), and the rent ceiling for their family size is below what a landlord is charging, then the tenant doesn't qualify (there may be odd exceptions to this - e.g. large family requiring extra bedrooms). Might be of use to landlords and tenants reading the thread.

The Maximum Rent Limits, set by the Dept of Social & Family Affairs are reviewed every 18 months. The next review (and new limits) is due in July 2008.
 
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