More Rent Allowance cuts to landlords

[Capricorn 1]

Is anyone aware of further cuts in payments to landlords by Community Welfare Officers (CWO)? I was shocked when I checked my bank account to see a new cut of €107 in rent allowance. This is the second cut since June. No notification was given and both occured mid-lease. Both cuts were unilaterly imposed without consultation. It appears that CWOs have no regard for lease agreements. The CWO in this case is aware of my lease terms, he just chooses to ignore the fact that it is a signed contract.

Can anyone advise if this is legal and if anything can be done?

 

[Papercut]

I presume you mean rent supplement?

As far as I know there hasn’t been any recent universal cut in rent supplement & the last one of €6 per week was in June 2009, bringing the total deduction from €18 per week up to €24 per week. In other words if the rent is €100 per week the tenant is entitled to €76.

You need to check with your tenants, as the payment is an arrangement between the HSE & your tenant, just as your lease is a contract between you & your tenant. You have no legal contract with the HSE. Your tenants are legally responsible to ensure that their rent is paid, as they are the ones who signed the lease agreement with you.

Quite a lot, if not most CWOs will not process the payment to a landlord’s bank account, but to the claimant’s (the tenant’s) account – the practice was stopped by most of them some time ago, as some landlords were incorrectly viewing it as some sort of contract between the HSE & themselves, which is not the case, so any CWOs that continue to do so are doing it on a local level & as a convenience to landlords/tenants. They are not obliged to inform the landlord of any reduction. The matter is between the HSE & the claimant (your tenant).

As rent supplement is means tested, a further reduction of €107 would suggest that your tenant’s circumstances may have changed, & their means reassessed, so you should contact them for clarification.

The HSE sets maximum rent levels for each county, so you should check the list here http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/SupplementaryWelfareAllowance/Pages/RentSupplement.aspx to see what the level is in your area & how it may affect your tenants.

 

[gipimann]

In other words if the rent is €100 per week the tenant is entitled to €76.

Not strictly correct - the above calculation only applies if the person's income is at the same rate as the equivalent SWA rate for their family size.

If their SW income exceeds the SWA rate, then the tenant would have a lesser entitlement as they have to pay more themselves.

As a guide, JA, JB, One Parent Family and Disability Allowance are all paid at the same rate as SWA.

As Papercut said, the lease agreement is between the landlord and tenant, not the landlord and HSE. If there has been a reduction in Rent Supplement to the tenant, it would be up to the tenant to make up the balance of rent payable.

It sounds as if there's been a review of the tenant's claim, which has led to a change in entitlement. Ask the tenant for details.

 

[Capricorn 1]

Many thanks for your replies - they have been most helpful. I will take up the matter with my tenant.