The Additional Needs Payment for a rent shortfall

The Additional Needs Payment is a once-off payment from the Department of Social Protection towards an essential cost you cannot meet from your weekly income. For a renter that cost is usually one of four things: a deposit for a new home, rent in advance, rent arrears, or the cost of a move. It is not a weekly payment and it does not replace Rent Supplement or HAP.

There is no set amount and no table of rates. The Community Welfare Service looks at the cost, your household's means, and your circumstances, and decides what, if anything, it will pay. You do not have to be on a social welfare payment to apply; people in work on a low income apply and are paid.

If the shortfall is arrears, ring MABS on 0818 07 2000 first and read rent arrears: where to get help. The arrears planner sets any 28-day notice dates against the application, so you know how much time there is.

What it can cover

The payment is part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, and the law gives the Community Welfare Service a wide discretion over what counts as an essential need. For renters the usual heads are these.

A deposit for a new tenancy, where you have found a home and cannot pay the deposit from income. The deposit is capped by the Residential Tenancies (No. 2) Act 2021 at one month's rent, and the Service will not pay above that. It is often paid directly to the landlord, and you should ask for a receipt that names it as the deposit.

Rent in advance, where the landlord asks for the first month up front. That too is capped at one month.

Rent arrears, where you have fallen behind and a payment would keep the tenancy. The Service looks at how the arrears arose, what you have already paid, and whether a payment now will solve the problem rather than delay it. A written plan agreed with the landlord helps.

The cost of a move, including a van, and essential furniture or appliances for a home that comes unfurnished. The Service may ask for quotes.

Who to ask

The Community Welfare Service is part of the Department of Social Protection and works from Intreo centres and local offices. Each area has designated officers who decide these applications. You can apply online through MyWelfare, by post using the form on gov.ie, or in person at the Intreo centre for your area, and you can ask for a phone appointment.

If you are already dealing with a social welfare office for another payment, ask there. If you are in homeless accommodation or working with a homeless service, the service's keyworker can make the application with you and often knows the local officer.

Citizens Information on 0818 07 4000 can tell you which office covers your address and what the form asks for.

What to bring

The application is decided on paper, so the paper matters. Bring, or upload, each of these.

Proof of identity and your PPS number, and the PPS numbers of everyone in the household. Proof of all household income for the last few weeks: payslips, a social welfare statement, or a letter from an employer. Bank statements for the recent period for each account, because the means test looks at savings as well as income.

Proof of the cost itself. For a deposit, a letter or email from the landlord or agent confirming the address, the rent, the deposit and that the home is available to you. For arrears, a statement from the landlord of the sum owed and the dates it covers. For a move, quotes. For rent in advance, the same letter as for the deposit.

Your tenancy agreement or rent book for the current home, and any notice you have received. A short note, in your own words, of what has happened and why you cannot meet the cost from income. If a date is pressing, say so and say why.

Ask for a receipt for anything you hand in, and keep a copy of everything in your tenancy file.

How it is decided

A designated officer of the Community Welfare Service decides the application. The officer looks at whether the need is essential, whether it is once-off, whether you can meet it from your own means, and whether another scheme should meet it instead. The officer may ring you, ask for more documents, or ask to see the home.

There is a means test, but it is not the same as the test for a weekly payment. The officer looks at income and savings and at the size of the cost, and can pay in full, pay part, or refuse. A refusal must be in writing with the reason.

If you are refused, or offered less than the cost, you can ask the Service to review the decision, and you can appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. The decision letter tells you how and gives the time limit. An appeal is free. Citizens Information or MABS can help you write it.

What the payment does not do

It does not pay rent week by week. If the shortfall is ongoing, the answer is Rent Supplement from the Department, or HAP through the council once you are approved for social housing support. Rent Supplement: who still gets it and social housing support and the HAP rule set out those routes.

It does not pay a deposit above one month's rent or a rent above the cap, and it does not pay a top-up that the landlord is asking for outside the HAP arrangement. If a landlord is asking for more than the Act allows, say so to the officer and ring Threshold on 1800 454 454.

It does not pause a notice. If you have received a rent arrears warning notice, the 28 days run whether or not an application is in. Make the application the same day and tell the landlord in writing that you have.

Where this leaves you

The Additional Needs Payment is a once-off, means-tested payment from the Community Welfare Service for a deposit, rent in advance, arrears or a move, decided case by case with no set amount. Apply through MyWelfare, by post or at your Intreo centre with proof of identity, income, savings and the cost itself, and ask for the decision in writing. If it is refused or too small, ask for a review and appeal. For arrears, ring MABS on 0818 07 2000 before you apply and set the dates in the arrears planner. For an ongoing shortfall, the routes are Rent Supplement and HAP, not this payment.