Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2019
609. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his policy on the removal of local authority rent caps; if there is a correlation between RAS caps and social housing rent caps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4126/19]
View answerThe right of local authorities to set and collect rents on their dwellings is laid down in section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. The making or amending of such schemes is an executive function and is subject to broad principles laid down by my Department in Circular letter HRT 3/2002 of 6 March 2002, which states that rent levels should reflect tenants’ ability to pay. Rental Accommodation Scheme, RAS, tenants are assessed for rent under the relevant local authority differential rent scheme and pay their weekly rent to the authority, in accordance with their income.
Different approaches are taken to rent charging and setting across the country. For example, I understand that a majority of local authorities impose a maximum amount of rent payable under their rent scheme for different property types, while a significant minority do not impose any such maximum rents.
Considerable work has been carried out by my Department in developing a draft national differential rents framework for the purposes of section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. Such a framework has as its main aim the harmonisation of local authority rents, including a set of standardised income disregards, while retaining the general principle of rents related to household income. Under section 31, the making and revocation of a rent scheme would become reserved functions, while the charging of rents would remain an executive function.
This work is now being examined further in the light of the broader commitment given in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, to review the disparate systems of differential rent for social housing in place across local authorities. The overall objective is to ensure that housing supports are fair and sustainable and prioritise those on lowest incomes. I expect that the review will be completed in the near future.
