Cork council may abandon six-month embargo on rent supports for singles leaving home
Level Without Local For Single Financial The Now Heard Rent Impossible It Is 'financially Support' To Cork People County Many Authority From Some Privately Of Council
Cork County Council looks increasingly likely to backtrack on its policy of not allowing single people avail of financial supports for soaring rents until at least six months after they’ve moved out of the family home.
Officials agreed to the “urgent review” after hearing many councillors have received a litany of complaints from young people, and some up to 34, "caught in a bind" because they want to move out from their parents but can’t afford major increases in rental accommodation.
The current policy is the county council’s and not one laid down by government.
The motion to abolish the six-month cap was put forward by Fine Gael councillor John Paul O’Shea who said it is now “financially impossible for many single people to rent privately without some level of financial support” from the local authority.
He said many young people "flying the nest" don’t earn nearly enough to buy their own home, let alone pay significantly increasing rent. Mr O’Shea asked that while the council carry out the review of its policy, in the meantime it “apply leniency” and look at applications “sensitively".
Fianna Fáil councillors Frank O’Flynn and Deirdre O’Brien both backed him. The former said he had received numerous complaints about the lack of financial supports, while the latter added that such people are caught in limbo as being young, single adults they are at the bottom of the "pecking order" when it comes to qualifying for council housing.
Officials acknowledged that the six-month embargo on any relief payments has been in place since 2011. “Life has changed a lot since then,” Mr O’Shea said in response.
Meanwhile, a senior council official has said they will revisit an anomaly in the calculation of rates with regards to carers’ income. It comes after the issue was raised through a complaint by Fine Gael councillor Eileen Lynch.
She pointed out that the carers’ allowance paid for those aged 16 to 18 in receipt of disability allowance isn’t included as household income when rent is being calculated by the council if they are attending school.
However, in the case of those in that age group who are not in mainstream education the allowance is included as income when calculating rent. Ms Lynch maintained this is very unfair.
“There are many different reasons why a teenager may be in receipt of disability allowance, some of which may make school-going difficult for them. So, it’s important that we do not discriminate between those in school and those not in school when it is for a limited period of time,” she said.
She received a lot of backing for her assertion by council colleagues and a senior council official agreed that they would look at this on a case-by-case basis in future.