Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1998.

• Statutory Instrument No.: 188/1998
• Date: 23 May 1998

S.I. No. 188 of 1998.
SOCIAL WELFARE (RENT ALLOWANCE) REGULATIONS, 1998.
The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 23 (as amended by section 26 of the Social Welfare Act, 1989 (No. 4 of 1989)) of the Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act, 1982 (No. 6 of 1982) and subsections (2) and (3) of section 4 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 (No. 27 of 1993), hereby makes the following Regulations:
PART I GENERAL
	1 Short title	1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1998.
	2 Commencement	2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 4th day of June, 1998.
	3 Definitions	3. In these Regulations, save where the context otherwise requires—
"the Act of 1993" means the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993 ;
"the Act of 1982" means the Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) Act, 1982 ;
"the Act of 1983" means the Housing (Private Rented Dwellings) (Amendment) Act, 1983 (No. 22 of 1983);
"allowance" means an allowance to which section 23 of the Act of 1982 refers;
"beneficiary" means a person entitled to an allowance;
"claimant" means a person who has made a claim for an allowance;
"married person" means a person whose spouse is—
(a) living with him or her,
(b) wholly or mainly maintaining him or her, or
(c) being wholly or mainly maintained by him or her;
"the Minister" means the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs;
"prescribed relative" means a person in respect of whom an allowance is payable under section 167 of the Act of 1993;
"qualified child" has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(3) of the Act of 1993;
"rent officer" means a rent officer appointed under section 6 of the Act of 1983;
"the Tribunal" means the Rent Tribunal established by section 2 of the Act of 1983;
"weekly means" means the yearly means, as calculated under article 8 of these Regulations, divided by 52.
	4 Interpretation	4. Other than where the contrary is stated, any reference to a sub-article is to a sub-article of the article in which the reference occurs.
	5 Revocations	5. The Regulations specified in column (2) of Schedule B to these Regulations are hereby revoked to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule opposite the mention of those Regulations in column (2).
PART II RENT ALLOWANCE
	6 Conditions for receipt of allowance	6. Subject to these Regulations, an allowance shall be payable to a person who—
(a) is entitled to retain possession as the tenant of a dwelling under section 9 of the Act of 1982:
Provided that—
(i) the terms of the tenancy are fixed by a Court under the Act of 1982, or by the Tribunal, or by a rent officer under the Act of 1983, and have been set out in written form and signed by the landlord or his agent and a copy thereof has been furnished by the landlord to the tenant, and
(ii) the landlord has complied with the requirements of any regulations under section 24 of the Act of 1982, and
(b) satisfies the conditions as to means specified in these Regulations.
	7 Amount of allowance	7. (1) An allowance, in the case of —
(a) a married person whose weekly means do not exceed£139.90, or
(b) any other person whose weekly means do not exceed£83.00,
shall be a weekly amount equal to the amount by which the rent (calculated as a weekly rent) fixed by a Court, or by the Tribunal, or by a rent officer on or after the 26th day of July, 1982 exceeds the rent so calculated payable prior to that date;
Provided that where the rent so calculated payable prior to that date was less than£6.40 the allowance shall be the amount by which the rent so calculated fixed by a Court, or by the Tribunal, or by a rent officer exceeds£6.40.
(2) An allowance, in the case of persons whose weekly means exceed the amounts specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of sub-article (1), as the case may be, shall be the amount of allowance that would arise if the provisions of sub-article (1) applied, reduced—
(a) in the case of a married person, by 50p for each£1 of weekly means in excess of£139.90, but not exceeding£149.90, and by£1 for each£1 of weekly means in excess of£149.90, and
(b) in any other case, by 50p for each£1 of weekly means in excess of£83.00, but not exceeding£88.00, and by£1 for each£1 of weekly means in excess of£88.00.
(3) For the purposes of sub-articles (1) and (2), any fraction of£1 of weekly means greater than 50p shall be taken to be£1 and any other such fraction shall be ignored.
(4) Where a Court, under section 14 of the Act of 1982, or the Tribunal, under section 12 of the Act of 1983, orders a tenant to pay an amount to the landlord, such amount shall be converted to a weekly amount by reference to the period to which the order of the Court or the Tribunal relates and sub-articles (1) and (2) shall apply in determining the amount of the allowance payable, if any, as if the sum of the said weekly amount and the existing rent, calculated as a weekly rent, were a rent fixed by a Court or by the Tribunal and any allowance due for that period shall be payable at such times as are appropriate having regard to the terms of the order of a Court under the said section 14 or of the Tribunal under the said section 12.
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-articles (1), (2) and (4), an allowance may be reduced or title thereto may be extinguished, as appropriate, having regard to—
(a) the income of any person other than the tenant, his or her spouse or children resident in the dwelling, or
(b) the reasonable accommodation needs of the tenant, account being taken of the availability of suitable alternative accommodation, the length of his or her occupancy of the dwelling and his or her personal and family circumstances.
(6) In this article "children" means persons who—
(a) are under the age of 18 years, or
(b) are of or over the age of 18 years and under the age of 22 years, and are receiving full-time instruction by day at any university, college, school or other educational establishment.
(7) Where the amount of an allowance under sub-article (1) or (2) or, where appropriate, the sum of any such allowance and an allowance under sub-article (4) otherwise payable would be less than£1, no allowance shall be payable.
	8 Calculation of means	8. (1) In calculating the means of a person, account shall be taken of the following—
(a) all income which he may reasonably expect to receive during the succeeding year in cash, including the annual net cash value of any noncash earnings derived from personal exertions and the actual or estimated amount of any income which he or she may reasonably expect to receive during such succeeding year as head of the household, whether as contributions to the expenses of the household or otherwise, but excluding—
(i) any sums received by way of child benefit under Part IV of the Act of 1993,
(ii) any sums received by way of orphan's (contributory) allowance, orphan's (non-contributory) pension or death benefit by way of orphan's pension under the Act of 1993,
(iii) any sums received by way of allowance for domiciliary care of handicapped children under section 61 of the Health Act, 1970 (No. 1 of 1970),
(iv) any sums arising from the investment or profitable use of property (not being property personally used or enjoyed by such person or a farm or land leased by him or her under a lease in accordance with sound land use practice),
(v) any sums received by way of family income supplement under Part V of the Act of 1993,
(vi) any sums received by way of payments by a health board in respect of a child who is boarded out,
(vii) any moneys received from a charitable organisation, being a body whose activities are carried on otherwise than for profit (but excluding any public or local authority) and one of whose functions is to assist persons in need by making grants of money to them, and
(viii) any income arising from employment of a casual nature by a health board as a home help;
(b) the value of any property belonging to such person (not being property personally used or enjoyed by him or her or a farm of land leased by him or her under a lease in accordance with sound land use practice) which is invested or is otherwise put to profitable use or which, though capable of investment or profitable use, is not invested or put to profitable use, the yearly value shall be calculated as follows:
(i) the first£2,000 of capital value of the property shall be excluded,
(ii) the yearly value of the next£20,000 of the capital value of the property shall be assessed at 7.5 per cent., and
(iii) the yearly value of so much of the capital value of the property as exceeds£22,000 shall be assessed at 15 per cent.;
(c) the yearly value of any advantage accruing to such person from—
(i) the use or enjoyment of property (other than a domestic dwelling or a farm building owned and occupied, or furniture and personal effects) which is personally used or enjoyed by him or her, and
(ii) the leasing by him or her of a farm of land under a lease in accordance with sound land use practice;
(d) the yearly value of any benefit or privilege enjoyed by such person;
(e) all income and the yearly value of all property of which such person has directly or indirectly deprived himself or herself in order to qualify for an allowance, or for a higher rate than that to which the said person or his or her spouse would otherwise be entitled.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of sub-article (1), the income of a person shall, in the absence of other means for ascertaining it, be taken to be the income actually received during the year immediately preceding the date of calculation.
(3) Notwithstanding sub-article (1), the weekly means of a person in receipt of any assistance specified in section 118 (1) of the Act of...