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Local Authority Housing Rents

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2013

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Questions (645)

Damien English

Question:

645. Deputy Damien English asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if a person participating in the JobBridge scheme has their payment included in the calculation for means within the differential rent scheme means tested; if the rules are consistently applied by each local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28100/13]

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Written answers

The making and amending of rent schemes is the responsibility of local authorities, subject to broad principles laid down by my Department.

It is a matter for local authorities, when assessing individual households, to consider whether rents payable are in accordance with the authority’s rent scheme. Therefore, decisions on whether or not to disregard either a proportion of income or particular sources of income for the purposes of calculating rents are matters for each individual local authority to consider in accordance with their own rent scheme.

The current arrangements for determining local authority rents will be substantially replaced on the coming into force of Section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. On enactment of the Housing (Amendment) Bill 2013, currently before the House, I will introduce regulations to give effect to that Section.

While it is not the intention to introduce a national standardised differential rent scheme, the regulations to be made will more clearly set out the matters that may be included in a local rents scheme, including the level, type and sources of household income that may be assessed for rent purposes. It is intended that the additional allowance in excess of the reference rate of payments made by the Department of Social Protection for schemes such as the national internship scheme (JobBridge) will be disregarded for the purposes of determining reckonable household income.

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