The Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 prescribe maximum net income limits for each housing authority, in different bands according to the area, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy.
The income bands and the authority area assigned to each band were based on an assessment of the income needed to provide for a household's basic needs plus a comparative analysis of the local rental cost of housing accommodation across the country. The limits also reflect a blanket increase of €5,000 introduced prior to the new system coming into operation, in order to broaden the base from which social housing tenants are drawn and thereby promote sustainable communities.
I am satisfied that the current income limits generally provide for a fair and equitable system of identifying those households unable to provide accommodation from their own resources. These limits will continue to be kept under review by my Department, as part of the broader social housing reform agenda set out in the Social Housing Strategy 2020.
The Government recognises the significant challenges facing the housing market in Ireland at present. The recently published Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, (available online at http://rebuildingireland.ie) sets out a practical and readily implementable set of time-based actions to help create a fully functioning and sustainable housing system that will deliver for people by addressing the shortage of affordable housing, rising rents and the unacceptably high level of homelessness.
The Plan is divided into five pillars, with each targeting a specific area of the housing system for attention. Pillar 3, entitled Build More Homes, has a key objective of increasing the output of private housing to meet demand at affordable prices. Pillar 4 deals with the Rental Sector and includes the development of a new affordable rental scheme to enhance the capacity of the private rented sector to provide quality and affordable accommodation for households currently paying a disproportionate amount of their disposable income on rent.
