Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 October 2016
240. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the cost per annum of all private sector rental schemes since 1991, including, but not limited to, the rental accommodation scheme, the housing assistance payment, the social housing current expenditure programme, previously the leasing scheme, and expenditure on emergency accommodation, in tabular form. [31606/16]
View answerThe information requested is being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy in accordance with Standing Orders.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A
My Department has responsibility for three current expenditure funded schemes in which units are sourced from the private rental sector for social housing use - the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) formerly the Social Housing Leasing Initiative which was initiated in 2009; the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) initiated in 2005; and the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme established in 2014.
SHCEP supports the delivery of social housing by recouping to local authorities the cost of long-term lease agreements that are entered into with Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) or private property owners and developers. Properties made available under SHCEP are used to accommodate households from local authority waiting lists. Leased properties are allocated to tenants, in accordance with the relevant local authority's allocation scheme.
The table below sets out the annual expenditure on the SHCEP (formerly the Social Housing Leasing Initiative) since its inception in 2009 to the end of September 2016. The annual Exchequer provision for the Programme funds the full year cost of the ongoing contractual commitments of leases and contracts, and the cost of new contracted units that become operational under the Programme during the year. €57 million was provided in my Department’s estimate for the Programme in 2016, and €84 million in 2017. Expenditure in 2015 included a self-funding element of €7.933m which was funded by local authorities from built up RAS reserves. At the end of Q4 2015, there were 7,099 social housing units operational under the Programme, and to end Q3 2016, an additional 638 new units had become operational.
|
Year |
SHCEP Outturn |
|
2009 |
€642,178 |
|
2010 |
€3,774,920 |
|
2011 |
€13,817,464 |
|
2012 |
€20,814,526 |
|
2013 |
€27,362,615 |
|
2014 |
€34,844,781 |
|
2015 |
€42,150,239* |
|
2016 (to end Sept) |
€28,165,770 |
*includes €7,933,651 which was offset against LA RAS reserve 2015
RAS, which commenced in 2005, is a targeted scheme that allows households to transfer from rent supplement to social housing if they have been in receipt of rent supplement for 18 months or more. RAS tenants can find their own private rent accommodation or a local authority can source that accommodation. The landlord tenant relationship is a three-way relationship – the landlord has landlord responsibilities but also signs a contract with the local authority to secure the use of the unit. The local authority pays the rent to the landlord in return. The tenant pays the local authority differential rent.
The table below sets out the annual expenditure on RAS since its inception in 2005 to the end of September 2016. The annual Exchequer provision for the scheme covers recoupments made to local authorities in respect of the contracted rents due to landlords, and deposits on newly acquired accommodation. €135 million was provided in my Department’s estimate for the scheme in 2016, and €134 million in 2017. Expenditure in 2015 and 2016 included a self-funding element of €14.85m and €13.4m respectively which was funded from built up RAS reserves. At the end of Q4 2015, there were 20,834 tenancies supported under the scheme, and to end Q3 2016, an additional 930 new transfers had been completed.
|
Year |
RAS Outturn |
|
2005 |
€723,280 |
|
2006 |
€6,199,980 |
|
2007 |
€27,384,837 |
|
2008 |
€53,025,430 |
|
2009 |
€83,394,513 |
|
2010 |
€100,076,430 |
|
2011 |
€115,917,365 |
|
2012 |
€125,429,966 |
|
2013 |
€130,886,608 |
|
2014 |
€133,512,889 |
|
2015 |
€136,639,464** |
|
2016 (to end Sept) |
€98,003139 |
** Includes €14.85m self-funding from RAS reserve
Under the HAP scheme, which has been rolled out incrementally since the initial pilot in 2014, households find their own accommodation in the private rented market. The local authority will make a monthly payment to the landlord, subject to rent limits depending on the household size and the relevant local authority area, on behalf of the tenant. The tenancy is between the tenant and the landlord and is covered under the terms of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended). The local authority is not a party to the tenancy. The tenant pays a rent contribution based on the household’s income; the rent contribution is calculated in the same way as the differential rent paid by a tenant of a local authority owned property.
The table below sets out the costs of the HAP scheme to my Department, which includes the cost of landlord payments and local authority administration, from its inception to the end of September 2016. €47.7 million was provided in my Department’s estimate for the scheme in 2016, and €153 million in 2017. At the end of Q4 2015, there were 5,853 households being supported under the scheme, and to end Q3 2016, an additional 8,727 new HAP tenancies had been set up.
|
Year |
HAP Outturn |
|
2014 |
€394,472 |
|
2015 |
€15,643,829 |
|
2016 (to end Sept) |
€ 29,853,881 |
My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation, and related services, for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities. My Department does not fund any service directly but provides funding to lead housing authorities on a regional basis, therefore the exact amounts spent by housing authorities on emergency accommodation are a matter for those authorities.
