Rent Supplement Submission (pdf) - Citizens Information Board

ent itlement. [Finally], it is confusing t hat there are several Cent ral Rent Units, as some serviceusers get details of one unit and t hink t hat because it is a ‘cent ral’ unit , it covers all areas.The following case is illustrative of the apparent level of confusion not only amongst RSapplicants but also amongst DSP personnel:A client found accommodation in Dublin 12. He went to his nearest Healt h Cent re and wast old t hat Rent Supplement was no longer being processed from t hat office but no one couldt ell him who was accepting t he applications. The CIS were t urned t o for help and cont act edt he Superint endent 's office for t hat area. Nobody in t hat office knew where t o send t heapplicat ion and we were given a local Healt h Cent re number. We called and were redirectedt o t he office which had initially given us t heir number. We t hen called t he SWA Unit .It was suggest ed that the Dublin 12 Cent ral Rent Unit was t he appropriat e address, but t hiswas not t he case as t his unit covers Dublin Nort h. We t hen cont act ed t he Dublin 2 Cent ralRent Unit; the client's address was not on t heir list and they could not suggest t he right office.By calling all Healt h Cent res in t he Dublin 12 area, t he CIS event ually found t he correctoffice. It had not been cent ralised. (Dublin Cit y Cent re CIS)4.2.3 With respect to delays in claim processing, CIB is conscious that this is an issue acrossa number of DSP schemes at this time, whilst acknowledging recent improvements to waitingtimes for e.g. in relation to jobseekers payments. Delays result not only in loss of incomeleading to, in some cases, substantial hardship, but also significant distress and anxiety. In thecase of Rent Supplement, delays can also bring with it the risk of loss of a tenancy.Of the many cases reported by CISs, the following are indicative of processing errors(including lost documentation and RS being withdrawn and restated without explanation),the unavailability of DSP staff to deal with enquiries (urgent or otherwise) and the absence ofa facility to take direct representation from people in exceptionally difficult circumstances.A family comprising a husband, his disabled wife, and t heir adult son moved int o rent edaccommodation more suit able for a disabled person than their previous t enancy had been,and made an application for RS. This application was lost. (The man had proof of posting.) Anew application was made, followed by many at t empt s by t he applicant and CIS st aff t oget information as t o progress. Eventually, [t hey were grant ed] RS at a much lower level t hanhad originally been sanct ioned and informed t hat t he adult son would have t o make aseparat e applicat ion. This t ook a furt her t wo mont hs t o process. The man was ext remelydistressed at owing arrears of rent and fearful of homelessness. He st ill faces t he possibilit yt hat t he RS will be st opped because of t he new RS limit s, despit e having alreadyrenegot iat ed and obt ained a reduct ion on t he rent originally asked for. This family needswheelchair-suit able accommodat ion. Their dist ress is compounded by t he fact t hat t heyhave not been able t o put their case in person t o a DSP st aff member. (Dun Laoghaire CIS)A man wit h a pregnant wife and t hree children waited over t wo mont hs for his application tobe dealt wit h, under severe pressure from his new landlord, and unable t o make cont actwit h t he CRU. (Dun Laoghaire CIS)Person has been homeless for 17 mont hs and has finally found somewhere t o live but is aboutt o lose it and become homeless again because of delays in t he Rent Supplement section.6