Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2013
187. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the practice of top up, undeclared, payments which landlords are demanding of rent supplement tenants, in order that they will officially reduce the demanded rent to satisfy the community welfare officer; and the steps she will take to prevent this practice. [4068/13]
View answer375. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will commit to the eradication of the extensive practice of landlords preying on tenants trying to secure, or remain in, accommodation, of demanding cash payments on top of the amount declared for the purposes of rent supplement, a top up payment over and above that which the community welfare officer determined would be the individual's contribution. [4453/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 187 and 375 together.
There are currently approximately 88,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €403 million for 2013. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme 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. The overall aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. Rent supplement is calculated to ensure that the person, after payment of rent, has an income equal to the basic supplementary welfare allowance rate, less a specified weekly minimum contribution which recipients are required to pay from their own resources.
The “top up” payments referred to fall into two specific categories. Where a person has an additional income above the rate of supplementary welfare allowance they are, in certain circumstances, allowed to top up their rent as they will still have sufficient income to meet their basic needs after paying their rent. The second type of top up payment can occur where the application to the Department declares a rent lower than that actually being charged by the landlord. There has been no evidence presented to the Department showing widespread or systemic ‘false declarations’ of rent supplement through the use of illegal top-ups.
Any instance of false declarations should be reported to the relevant Department representatives who have specific legislative powers to deal with such offences. The Department, in June 2012, introduced powers of enquiry (Section 14 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012 refers) for staff to formally request and oblige landlords to provide information in respect of rent supplement tenants, principally to verify the agreed rent and existence of the tenancy. This measure improves both the governance and oversight arrangements in place.
