Rent allowance - is this wrong / selfish / doable

M

magical

Guest
Good evening all..........
I was made redundant 3 months. I am thinking of letting out my 2 bed apartment ( €1200 pm and will cover the capital mortgage, nevermind the interest only option) and renting somewhere else. The plan is to then seek rent allowance to pay for my new rented property and save on the bottom line. I am wrestling with my conscience on this one but I don`t even know if it is a runner. I dont want to raise it with social welfare yet. All comments welcome.
 
Here are the criteria for qualifying for Rent Supplement:


You may be eligible for Rent Supplement if the accommodation is suitable for your needs, the rent is below the maximum rent level set for your county and you are:
  • Assessed by a Housing Authority as having a housing need or
  • Regarded by a Housing Authority as being homeless or
  • A tenant of accommodation provided under one of the Social Housing Schemes or
  • Aged over 65 years or
  • On certain disability payments. That is, Disability Allowance, Blind Pension or Invalidity Pension and the equivalent payments from other EU countries or countries that Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement
and
  • Pass a Habitual Residence Test
  • Pass a means test
Currently, if you do not fit into one of the categories above you will not be eligible for Rent Supplement unless you are already renting accommodation and have experienced a substantial change in circumstances beyond your control leading to you being unable to afford the rent. You must have been able to afford the rent from your own resources when you started to rent and you should have had a reasonable expectation that you would continue to be able to afford the rent into the future.

Do you think that the scenario you propose falls into any of the above?

Have you applied for Mortgage Interest Supplement? You may qualify for a payment under that scheme, and, if you rented a room, that might help with the repayments.
 
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You asked is this wrong...and I think it is. Rent allowance is there for those with a genuine need and you already own your home (or at least own a mortgage).
Ask suggested you may be entitled to mortgage interest supplement.
Or how about renting the second bedroom? Not an ideal scenario but would help you through the next year or so.
 
If you are renting out your own property that is deemed as an income. you would have to declare it and therefore are not entitled to any form of SW benefits, rent allowance etc.
 
As other have pointed out it's not possible for you to do this.

You have the option of renting out one of the rooms or another idea you could rent out the apartment for a 6 month period and maybe move in with family or friends, or even just rent a room yourself somewhere, instead of another apartment. It might help ease your financial situation for a while. A lot can happen in 6 months you could have another job and be able to move back into your apartment then.
 
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