Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 May 2017
202. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the proposal that income received by social welfare recipients from the rent-a-room scheme should be disregarded in view of the potential of this scheme to contribute to addressing the housing crisis. [21101/17]
View answerSocial welfare legislation provides that, for means testing purposes, rental income received by a claimant and his or her spouse/partner where it derived from a property other than the family home is not assessed. However, the yearly value of such a second property is assessed on a notional basis based on the market value of the property less any outstanding mortgage. This reflects the position that the individual(s) possesses a capital asset which can be realised to provide income support.
Where an individual is renting part of their family home, the cash value of the rental income is assessed. Such rental income is reduced by a range of deductions. These include:
i. a proportion of any mortgage interest paid by the claimant on the part of the property rented,
ii. a 15% deduction for voids (i.e. periods when the accommodation is vacant between lettings), and,
iii. if the rooms let are furnished, a 5% deduction for wear and tear.
These arrangements are outlined on the Department’s website at the following link: http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Means-Assessment.aspx.
In addition, a special provision exists for claimants of the State Pension (Non-Contributory) and Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Non-Contributory) Pension, whereby no assessment is made of any money received in respect of rent from a person who lives with the pensioner where, but for that person, the pensioner would be living alone.
Fully disregarding all rental income would run contrary to the policy of ensuring that social welfare expenditure is targeted to those who need it the most. It could also potentially negatively impact on the incentive to work for working age recipients. Any change to my Department’s means policies would have to be considered in the overall policy and budgetary context.
