Housing Supports - Rent Supplement

There are two main Housing Supports:

• Rent Supplement

• Housing Assistance Payment

What Is Rent Supplement?

This is a short term payment, paid to those who are renting from a private landlord and who cannot afford to pay the rent. The amount you pay towards your rent is calculated to ensure your income does not fall below a certain limit. DSP allows for some flexibility where a landlord seeks rent above the maximum rent limits.

What Are The General Rules For Rent Supplement?

• New applicants must have been able to afford rent when they took on the tenancy originally

• Applicants and their partner/spouse are not working more than 30 hours per week

• Applicants are not leaving or have left local authority housing without good reason

• Applicants must be a genuine tenant and

• Applicants were in receipt of rent supplement in the last 12months OR were living in private rented accommodation for at least 6 (183 days) of the last 12 months,

• Applicants could afford the rent at the beginning of their tenancy and are unable to continue to pay the rent because of a substantial change in their circumstances which occurred after they started renting OR they were living in homeless accommodation for 6 out of the previous 12months. If they have been assessed as in need of social housing support they will be referred to the local authority to have their needs addressed

Are There Disregarded Payments For Rent Supplement?

There are a few:

• Full Half-Carers Allowance

• Carers Allowance (Couple - QA rate; Single Person - amount above SWA rate)

• Rehabilitative Employment €120

• Maintenance between €95.23 and €170.23

• First €75 of Additional Household Income

What Is Additional Household Income

This is any income over the relevant family rate supplementary welfare allowance less disregards

Applicable. All additional household income is assessed at 75%