Rent allowance scheme 'failing most vulnerable'
29/07/2005 - 07:39:58The rent supplement scheme is failing the most vulnerable sections of society, according to the housing organisation Threshold.
The agency said a study conducted in Cork had found that people on the rent supplement scheme were effectively excluded from two-thirds of the rental market.
This is either because landlords refuse to accept such tenants or because the rent levels exceed the cut-off point for receipt of rent allowance.
Threshold said the study found that one-fifth of people on rent supplement were forced to make "top-up" payments from their social welfare because most rents were well above the limits in the scheme.
