Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 November 2020
371. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a family in receipt of rent allowance for a period greater than 18 months and are forced into homelessness and require emergency accommodation will lose their eligibility for the RAS scheme. [36394/20]
View answerThe Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is a targeted scheme to cater for the accommodation needs of people in receipt of long term rent supplement. The qualifying criteria for RAS are as follows:
- A household must be in receipt of rent supplement, in general for a period of 18 months or more, and;
- Are assessed as having a long term housing need by their local authority (i.e. they must be deemed to qualify for social housing support by their local authority and be placed on the local authority housing waiting list).
Once these criteria are satisfied, households are permitted to transfer from rent supplement to RAS, subject to a suitable property being available.
Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended.
Once a household is deemed eligible for social housing support, it is a matter for the local authority to examine the suite of social housing supports available, including the RAS scheme, to determine the most appropriate form of social housing support for that household in the administrative area of that local authority.
Oversight and management of housing waiting lists is a matter for the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and associated regulations.
