S.I. No. 729/2003 - Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations, 2003

The Minister for Social and Family Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on her by section 28 (inserted by section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002 (No. 9 of 2002) 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:

Citation and construction.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) (Amendment Regulations, 2003.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1998 to 2002 shall be construed together as one and may be cited as the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance Regulations, 1998 to 2003.

Commencement.

2. These Regulations come into operation on 1 January 2004.

Definition.

3. In these Regulations “the Principal Regulations” means the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 188 of 1998 ).

Amount of rent allowance.

4. Article 7 of the Principal Regulations is amended by the substitution for sub-articles (1) and (2) (as amended by article 4 of the Social Welfare (Rent Allowance) (Amendment (No. 2) Regulations, 2002 ( S.I. No. 629 of 2002 )) of the following sub-articles:

“(1) An allowance, in the case of-

(a)  a married person whose weekly means do not exceed EUR 296.50, or

(b)  any other person whose weekly means do not exceed EUR 167.30,

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 25th day of July, 2002 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 EUR 13, 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 EUR 13.

(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 50 cent for each EUR 1 of weekly means in excess of EUR 296.50, but not exceeding EUR 496.50, and by EUR 1 for each EUR 1 of weekly means in excess of EUR 496.50, and

(b)  in any other case, by 50 cent for each EUR 1 of weekly means in excess of EUR 167.30, but not exceeding EUR 367.30, and by EUR 1 for each EUR 1 of weekly means in excess of EUR 367.30.”.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

These Regulations provide for increases in the amount of means disregarded for people affected by the decontrol of rents and the minimum rent for the purposes of the Rent Allowance scheme with effect from 1st January 2004.