The purpose of rent supplement is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation, whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source.
Under the legislative provisions governing rent supplement, the Department's relationship is with the tenant; the tenant makes the application for rent supplement and payment is made to the tenant. Rent supplement is specifically for the benefit of tenants to assist them with their accommodation needs. There is no direct relationship between the landlord and the Department in the administration of the scheme.
Current legislation already provides for the making of a rent supplement payment to another person (e.g. a relative, a landlord or landlord's agent) on behalf of the recipient, at the tenant's written request and subject to the consent of the Department. Approximately 20% of rent supplement payments are currently paid to a person other than the tenant.
As the Deputy will be aware on 16 June 2011, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Minister for Housing and Planning published a new housing policy framework statement. The policy contained the announcement for the transfer of responsibility in providing housing needs for long term rent supplement recipients to housing authorities on a phased basis. A multi-agency steering group has been established to develop proposals to give effect to this transfer. This transfer will help achieve a key Government commitment of removing barriers to employment while at the same time changing the way in which rent supplement tenants receive support from the State to meet their accommodation needs. The rent supplement scheme will then revert to its original purpose, that of a short term income support payment for those temporarily unemployed.