asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the upward revision of rents for local authority houses which is causing grave hardship to people on fixed incomes, and the steps he proposes to take to alleviate the position, with particular reference to County Donegal.
Written Answers. - Local Authority House Rents.
218.
I am not aware that grave hardship is being caused to local authority tenants on fixed incomes in County Donegal or indeed in any other local authority area following the introduction of the revised national rents scheme for local authority houses. Under the scheme, differential rent is assessed at a fraction, varying from one-twentieth to one-seventh of assessable income and I have made substantial increases in the amounts of assessable incomes to which the rent fractions apply in order to avoid hardship, particularly in the lower income groups, resulting from the assessment in full of all basic income.
For example, the lowest fraction of income hitherto assessed for rent purposes was one-twelfth of incomes up to £19 a week. Under the 1980 scheme. incomes of up to £36 a week will be assessed at only one-twentieth and the upper limit of one-seventh rent fraction will apply only where the assessable income exceeds £55, as against £39 a week in the 1979 scheme.
Increases in rent resulting from the revision of maximum rents of houses in the differential rent scheme are being limited to a maximum of £1.50 per week and this will only apply where the tenant's assessable income justifies such an increase. While fixed rents are being increased by 30p a week, tenants of houses on fixed rents may opt for differential renting where it is to their advantage to do so.
I should stress that the scheme as revised is fair and equitable to all categories of tenants and is designed in such a way that increases in rent will apply only in cases in which income warrants such increases.
I may add that in cases of genuine hardship, it is open to local authorities to accept from a tenant for a specified period a lesser sum for rent than that required under the scheme.