People seeking assistance with their rent face more hardship after recent legislation made it even harder to receive the rent allowance supplement. That is according to Labour TD, Ciaran Lynch who says recent changes in social welfare legislation and changes to the rent supplement scheme by the Department of the Environment and the Department of Social and Family Affairs will hamper people who have recently lost their jobs and who seek assistance with their rent.

A circular letter issued to local authorities requires all new applicants for the rent allowance supplement to undergo an assessment of eligibility, which now requires an official from the local authority's housing department to carry out home visits.

Under the new scheme no supplement is payable until the assessment is completed however both departments acknowledge they may take some time to complete. Commenting on the matter Deputy Lynch said, "The change in legislation will now create difficulties for couples and families living in private rented accommodation who were working up until recently. Where previously they qualified for rent allowance by placing themselves on the local authority housing list, they are now required to have a home visit before rent allowance is payable. Unfortunately there is a significant waiting period of up to several months for the visits to be undertaken and for the assessment to be completed."

He added that whatever reason the government had for introducing these changes it only served to create additional hardship for people who recently lost their employment. "I am calling on the Ministers at both departments to re-examine how this scheme is to be implemented. The idea that a person's immediate need for housing support should be subject to such a drawn out evaluation process makes neither sense nor good housing policy," he said.

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