This scheme will apply with effect from week commencing 3 April 2019. It will supersede all existing Rent Schemes and will be subject to review on a regular basis as circumstances dictate.
The aim of the scheme is to achieve equitable rents for all tenants based on household income while ensuring transparency and accountability.
i. Rents for dwellings let on Differential Rent will be calculated in accordance with Paragraph 3 below, as 15% of the assessable income of the Principal Earner together with a calculated contribution from any subsidiary earners in the household. In determining rent in the case of a new or transferred tenancy, assessable income will be reckoned by reference to the income situation of the family at date of signing new Letting Agreement.
ii. Assessable income of the principal earner is income from the following sources but reduced by statutory deductions and pension contributions on such income.
(a) Income from employment including self-employment.
(b) All social insurance and social assistance payments, allowances and
pensions, Health Service Executive allowances, FAS training allowances, VTOS and Youth Reach schemes except payments listed at (vii) below.
(c)Income from pensions of kinds not already included in (b) above
(d) Maintenance payments from another person.
(e) Working Family Payment (WFP) formerly Family Income Supplement (FIS)
(f) Income from Community Employment Schemes or national internship schemes.
(g) Income from any other source not mentioned above.
Where the income details submitted are less than the minimum social welfare entitlement for a specific family composition, the rent will be assessed based on general social welfare entitlements.
iii. Assessment of Self-Employed Persons
Persons who are self-employed will be assessed on a minimum net income of €510.
iv. Income of an employed person is, in general, the normal weekly rate of remuneration as defined in the relevant legislation. All regular payments in the nature of pay are included.
v. Principal Earner is the person (either the tenant or any other person normally resident in the household) who is in receipt of the highest assessable income within the household. In the event of this provision giving rise to undue hardship, the City Council may designate the tenant as the principal earner.
vi. Subsidiary Earner is a member of the household other than the principal earner, who has an income.
vii.Income from the following sources is disregarded for the purposes of Rent Calculation:
The rents of dwellings let on Differential Rent will be determined on the basis of the following scales of assessable income as shown hereunder:
Cork City Council may, where circumstances warrant it, make appropriate adjustments at the marginal points of the scale when calculating rents.
The tenant is required to notify Cork City Council immediately of any change in income or in household make-up or circumstances. Failure to do so will lead to retrospective adjustment of rent to the date the change in circumstances took place or a date as determined by Cork City Council.
If the tenant does not declare any change in the household income then he/she is in breach of the terms of their tenancy agreement.