Student housing allowance: What are your rights?

Questioner

I, together with a fellow student, we are both under 23 years old, have been given the opportunity to rent an apartment from a private individual. The total rent per month is 600,-, or 300,- pp. In order to receive rent allowance, the monthly rent must be between 231.87 and 409.92 per month. In order to be in between, we would have to sign two separate rental contracts. However, it now appears that, even if we were to sign two separate rental contracts, we would not both be able to receive rent allowance because it concerns one address with one front door. Would it be possible to sign two rental contracts and then only apply for rent allowance for one of them? After all, it would concern one address, with a rent that is between the indicated limits.

Lawyer

No, that is not possible because you are both each other's allowance partner, which means that because you share a household on a permanent basis (regardless of how many rental contracts there are), your incomes for the housing allowance are added together.

Questioner

Our incomes are both zero. Do you mean that our rent is also added together?

Lawyer

Yes, because you rent an independent space together and the rent is above the allowance standard for students and young people, which is lower.