I propose to take Questions Nos. 395, 397, 398 and 399 together.
The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of social housing support for people who have a long-term housing need. In order for a household to qualify for HAP, they must first be assessed as eligible for social housing support by their local authority. Any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for HAP and those households must source their own accommodation in the private rental sector. The accommodation sourced by tenants should be within the prescribed maximum HAP rent limits, which are based on household size and the rental market within the area concerned
The Programme for Government commits to ensuring that HAP levels are adequate to support vulnerable households, while the supply of social housing increases.
Under Housing for All, the Department was tasked with undertaking an analytical exercise to examine whether an increase in the level of discretion available to Local Authorities under HAP is required. The Housing Agency undertook to carry out this analytical exercise on behalf of the Department to better understand what level of discretion should be made available to Local Authorities under HAP to maintain adequate levels of support.
Following receipt and analysis of this review, I, in cooperation with Government colleagues and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, have now approved an increase in the HAP discretion rate from 20% to 35% and for new tenancies to extend the couple’s rate to single person households. This will secure more tenancies and prevent new entries to homelessness. Both these measures came into effect from 11 July 2022.
Each local authority now has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment up to 35% above the prescribed maximum rent limit to secure appropriate accommodation for a household that requires it, or up to 50% in the case of homeless households in the Dublin region.
A separate review of the discretion available to Homeless HAP tenancies in Dublin, which is up to 50% above the prescribed maximum rent limits, is currently being undertaken by my Department, in conjunction with the Housing Agency.
It is a matter for the local authority to determine, on a case by case basis, whether, and to what extent, the application of the flexibility is warranted although it should be noted that local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that tenancies are sustainable.
From available data, at the end of Q4 2021, 57% of the total number of households being supported by HAP were benefiting from the additional flexibility, at an average rate of discretion of 24.2% above the relevant limit.
When the additional discretion available to homeless households in the Dublin Region is removed, 51.2%, of households nationally were benefiting from the additional flexibility. In those cases, the average rate of discretionary payment being used was 17.3% above the relevant limit.
My Department is aware that some HAP recipients are making payments directly to their landlords, beyond the amount of HAP being paid on their behalf. While there is no legislative provision precluding HAP supported households contributing towards the monthly rent required by the landlord, local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that tenancies are sustainable and that households in HAP are in a position to meet the rental costs involved. The supplementary welfare scheme and the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 come under the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Social Protection.
I am committed to decreasing our reliance on the HAP scheme and we will only do that through significantly scaling up our social housing supply. ‘Housing for all’ sets us on a pathway to delivering 90,000 social homes between now and the end of 2030 including 9,000 this year.
