Made homeless by Southern Health Board

cork | crime and justice | event notice Wednesday October 12, 2005 22:27 by Leo Keaveney - None leo.keaveney at oceanfree dot net Homless 087 2297992

Deliberate discrimenation policy and implementation

The early warning system those who qualify for Rent Allowance must operate, assists Non Tax paying landlords to continue avoiding paying tax, they then withdraw the accommodation immediatly.

early this summer I had to move out of my accommodation and rented a room in one of the section 50 student accommodation providers called The Village Accommodation.
I am 48 years old and currently engaged in the second year of Archeticural Drafting course in St John's Central College, Cork.
However I was informed by the manageress that they couldn't offer me accomodation from September onwards because there wasn't any other older students in which I could share an appartment with. I set about finding accommodation about the second week in June, on 93% of the landlords refused to rent accomodation to me because they wouldn't accept rent allowance, the remainder were either younger people who prefered someone of their own age or prefered someone who was employed.
I eventually found a bedsit that the landlord had no problem with rent allowance and I paid the deposit and applied to the Health Board for rent allowance for this bedsit.
In the Village Accommodation the rent was Euro 60 per week and the rent allowance was Euro 41.50 per week, however after waiting for approx' two weeks I was informed by the Health Board that I was granted Euro 27.50 rent allowance per week. I immediatly went into Abbey Court House to speak with Ann Canty whose name was on the notification, I was first told that she was on her lunch break. I called back again and this time was told that she was at a meeting and wouldn't be back at the office until the next day.
I appealed the level of the allowance to the appeals officer and after about two weeks got to present my case to him. He informed me that he would let me know his decision over the next few days.
His decision was to not adjust the rent allowance and didn't state any reasons either for the amount of the allowance or his reasons for not adjusting it, he did inform me that I could appeal to the Chief Appeals Officer which I did.
I informed both appeals officers that I was running out of money, today I phoned the Dublin office to get the Chief appeals officer's decision and I informed someone in the Dublin office that I had to move out of my accommodation this evening if I didn't have a solution for the landlord, she told me that the Chief appeals officer required an oral hearing, I gave her my email address, for what it is worth, rent allowance won't help me now because I am now homeless.
At this point I am homeless because I have used the deposit to pay for the rent and can't afford to pay it from my Invalidity pension.
Tonight I am going to take up residency outside Abbey Court House until they sort this out.
If anyone else experienced anything similar please contact me at : leo.keaveney@oceanfree.net.