Families on supplement fork out for rent top-ups

More than 3,000 families and individuals in Galway are getting rent supplement – but a huge proportion of them have to pay ’top-ups’ to meet the actual cost of renting their home, according to a Galway TD.

Independent Deputy Noel Grealish said that latest figures showed that while there were 3,184 receiving rent supplement in Galway City and County at the end of March, only 155 were getting extra payments to meet the cost of renting.

“This means that a huge number of people are having to pay out of their own pockets the difference between what they get in rent supplement and what they are being charged by landlords.

“Currently, the most a family of, say, a couple with three children, can get in rent supplement is €750 a month – but that is falling well short of what the majority of properties are charging.

“The only option they have is to pay the balance themselves, even though they are not supposed to do so under the rules – and judging by the people who have contacted me about this, they are topping up by €100 and more a month,” said Deputy Grealish.

The Independent TD for Galway West said that even if an increase of up to 15% in rent supplements promised in the Programme for Government is extended to Galway, the maximum of €862.50 would still fall short of the rents charged for the cheapest three-beds in Galway City.

Deputy Grealish said that a study of properties advertised on the popular website daft.ie last week showed that there wasn’t a single three-bedroomed home available for rent in Galway City within the rent supplement limits.

“The cheapest three-bed on offer in the city – apart from the odd summer rental – was €950 a month for an apartment in Ballybrit and the same for a house in Knocknacarra, which is €200 a month above the maximum rent supplement.

“Any other three-bedroomed properties for rent in the city would cost at least €1,000 a month, most of them a lot more,” he said.

Deputy Grealish said that the same difficulties were faced by single people, couples and small families.

“There wasn’t a single property in the city available for longer term rent that cost less than the maximum rent supplement in each case,” he pointed out.

And the picture was not much better for people seeking suitable accommodation throughout the county.

“There are more properties available that are charging less than the rent supplement cap the further away you get from Galway City, but they are limited enough.

“And it’s no comfort to someone who wants to find a place to live near Claregalway that they could find a place that suits their pocket 60 miles away in Clifden.”

Deputy Grealish said that a realistic approach needed to be taken in the setting of limits for rent supplement.

Currently the limits for Galway are: Single (sharing) €280, couple (sharing) €300, single €475, couple €540, couple/parent with one qualified child €700, couple/parent with two children €725 and couple/parent with three children €750.

“In a place like Galway, where properties are scarce and rents are particularly high, we need to immediately raise the limits that are paid, and to a realistic level.

“The Programme for Partnership Government commits to raising the rent supplement ‘by up to 15%’ taking account of geographic variations.

“We need that and more in Galway if we are to be real about this – there are fewer than one in 20 Galway rent supplement recipients getting their payments boosted at the moment.

“It’s time we stopped turning a blind eye to what is going on, where families who are struggling are being forced to pay extra from severely limited means just to keep a roof over their heads.

“It might also help to stem the tide of families who are being forced to declare themselves homeless and become the responsibility of the local council to provide emergency accommodation,” added Deputy Grealish.