Rent supplements are subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant for rent supplement may incur. The objective is to ensure that rent supplement is not paid in respect of overly expensive accommodation.
Rent supplement is not normally paid where the rent is in excess of the limits because the personal contribution to rent made by the tenant should not be such that their post rent income is less than the relevant SWA rate minus the minimum contribution to rent prescribed in legislation and, as a consequence, insufficient to meet their other daily needs after paying their rent.
Notwithstanding these limits, under existing arrangements the Health Service Executive may, in certain circumstances, exceed the rent levels as an exceptional measure, for example:
where there are special housing needs related to exceptional circumstances for example, disabled persons in specially-adapted accommodation or homeless persons.
where the tenant will be in a position to re-assume responsibility for his/her rent within a short period
where the person concerned is entitled to an income disregard AND has sufficient income to meet his or her basic needs after paying rent, taking into account the appropriate rate of rent supplement that is otherwise payable in the case.
This discretionary power ensures that individuals with particular needs can be accommodated within the scheme, it specifically protects against homelessness and it ensures that people have an adequate post-rent income.
In November 2002, when the Central Statistics Office Privately Owned Rent Index first showed evidence of continued reductions in rent levels, regulations were introduced to set the maximum amount of rent in respect of which a rent supplement is payable. These limits remained in place to the end of December 2003. Further Regulations introduced in December 2003 and prescribed the limits to be used between January 2004 and June 2005. The current rent limits cover the period July 2005 to 31st December 2006.
Despite recent increases in rent levels the Central Statistics Office Privately Owned Rent Index shows that rent levels for October 2006 were in line with those which applied in October 2002.
My Department is currently reviewing rent limits in order to develop proposals regarding what limits should apply from January 2007 onwards. The review is taking account of prevailing rent levels in the private rental sector generally, together with detailed input from the Health Service Executive on the market situation within each of its operational areas.
The review will also include consultation with the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Private Residential Tenancies Board. In addition, a number of the voluntary agencies working in this area have made detailed submissions. This process will ensure that the new rent limits reflect realistic market conditions throughout the country, and that they will continue to enable the different categories of eligible tenant households to secure and retain suitable rented accommodation to meet their respective needs.