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Housing Assistance Payment

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 September 2020

Tuesday, 8 September 2020

Questions (407)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

407. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reason rent caps have not been reviewed in relation to the housing assistant payment since it was introduced in 2016; his plans to review same in view of ongoing national increases in rents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21272/20]

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Written answers

Increased rent limits for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and the Rent Supplement Scheme were introduced in 2016. These limits were agreed in conjunction with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP). In reviewing the rent limits, my Department worked closely with DEASP and monitored data gathered from the Residential Tenancies Board and the HAP Shared Services Centre. The HAP rent limits were increased significantly, in the order of 60% in some cases.

Maximum rent limits for the HAP scheme are set out for each housing authority area by the Housing Assistance Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2017. The current maximum HAP rent limits are available on the Irish Statute Book website at the following link:

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2017/si/56/made/en/print?q=housing&years=2017.

Local authorities also have discretion, because of local rental market conditions, to exceed the maximum rent limit by up to 20%, or up to 50% in the Dublin region for those households either in, or at immediate risk of homelessness. It should be noted that it is a matter for the local authority to determine whether the application of the flexibility is warranted on a case by case basis and also the level of additional discretion applied in each case.

In considering this issue, I am conscious that increasing the current HAP rent limits could have negative inflationary impacts, leading to a detrimental impact on the wider rental market, including for those households who are not receiving HAP support.

My Department closely monitors the level of discretion being used by local authorities, taking into account other sources of data, including Residential Tenancies Board rent data published on a quarterly basis. I am satisfied that the current maximum rent limits, together with the additional flexibility available to local authorities, are generally sufficient to support the effective operation of the HAP scheme.

The 2020 target for additional Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) set-ups is 15,750 and at the end of Q2 2020, 7,825 HAP tenancies had been set up (49%).

I will continue to keep the matter under review.

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