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Rent Supplement Scheme Administration

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 December 2013

Thursday, 12 December 2013

Questions (142, 143)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

142. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if it is intended to extend the estate management powers of local authorities under the Housing Acts, 1966 to 2009, to include tenancies supported by rent supplement or housing benefit. [53510/13]

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Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

143. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if it is intended to extend the estate management powers of local authorities under the Housing Acts, 1966 to 2009, to include tenancies acquired under the rental accommodation scheme where there is currently no statutory basis for tenant and estate management protocols and programmes of local authorities. [53511/13]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 142 and 143 together.

Housing authorities have no function in relation to the rent supplement scheme, which is operated by the Department of Social Protection. Insofar as the rental accommodation scheme (RAS) and the proposed scheme of housing assistance payments (HAP) are concerned, responsibility for estate management in relation to private rented accommodation, including RAS and HAP dwellings, rests with the landlord concerned, who has power under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to terminate a tenancy where the tenant is engaging in, or allowing others to engage in, anti-social behaviour. Nonetheless, housing authorities have certain powers set out below to address anti-social behaviour in RAS accommodation provided under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and it is intended that forthcoming legislation will include powers for housing authorities to address anti-social behaviour in HAP accommodation.

Under section 14 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997, housing authorities will have power to refuse to allocate, or to defer the allocation of, dwellings the subject of rental accommodation availability agreements under Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the 2009 Act to persons engaged in anti-social behaviour or in the interest of good estate management. Under that Chapter, a housing authority may also notify the landlord of a dwelling the subject of a rental accommodation availability agreement that the tenant is or was engaged in anti-social behaviour, in which case the landlord is obliged to terminate the tenancy in accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. Commencement of Chapter 4 of the 2009 Act is dependent on commencement of section 31 of the 2009 Act relating to local authority rent schemes, a process which, following the enactment of the Housing (Amendment Act ) 2013, I will put in train shortly.

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