Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 February 2019
216. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if social welfare payments received by a tenant in respect of a child can be assessed as income for differential rents by a local authority (details supplied); if a national framework exists which governs local authorities to ensure consistency in this respect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9806/19]
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 set out by my Department, including that rent levels should be based on income and reflect tenants’ ability to pay.
Different approaches are taken to rent charging and setting across the country. Local authorities define income as the "assessable income of the principal earner, reduced by statutory deductions and pension contributions on such income" and detail a list of sources of income (including social welfare payments of the type referred to) considered assessable. It should be noted that rent schemes are consistent with the definition of income for the purposes of assessment of eligibility set out in the Household Means Policy under the Social Housing (Assessment) Regulations 2011.
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, whilst 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.
In line with Rebuilding Ireland, work is advancing on the review of 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. The issue of what types of income would be assessable for rent purposes will be examined in this context. I expect that the review will be completed in the near future.
