Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 May 2023
83. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage what actions he intends to take to close the gap between HAP thresholds and market rents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23566/23]
View answer94. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will review the HAP bands with respect to a growing housing crisis in order to bring HAP bands into line with current market rents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23563/23]
View answerArgument aside, I do not believe that anybody could doubt that there is a very significant gap between the housing assistance payment, HAP, threshold limits and the actual rent being charged out there. The highest homeless HAP rate in my area is €1,950. The normal highest rate is €1,755. The average rent in my area is now €2,586.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 94 together.
The housing assistance payment is a form of social housing support available for people who have a long-term housing need. Any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for HAP. Eligible households can source their own accommodation in the private rental sector, which should be within the HAP rent limits provided to them by the local authority. Maximum rent limits for the HAP scheme are set out for each housing authority area by the Housing Assistance Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2017.
Under Housing for All, my 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 carried out this analytical exercise on behalf of my Department to better understand what level of discretion should be made available to local authorities under HAP to maintain adequate levels of support.
Since 11 July 2022 the HAP discretion rate has increased from 20% to 35% above the prescribed maximum rent limit and, for new tenancies, the couple's rate has been extended to single person households. It is, of course, a matter for the local authority to determine if the application of the discretion is warranted on a case-by-case basis and to decide the level of additional discretion applied in each case.
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.
My Department continues to keep the operation of the HAP scheme under review and closely monitors the level of discretion being used by local authorities, taking into account other sources of data, including RTB rent data published on a quarterly basis.
The Minister is committed to decreasing our reliance on the HAP scheme and central to that is significantly scaling up our social housing supply. Housing for All is the Government's plan to increase the supply of new homes to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost-rental homes. As new build supply of social and affordable housing ramps up, there will be reduced reliance on the HAP scheme.
We should not have to rely on HAP. It is €1 billion a year into the pockets of landlords but until we have the level of public and affordable housing necessary, sadly, we are going to end up relying on it.
It is not the case that reliance on it, in my area, is going to decline when we consider the housing targets. The delivery plan for my area is 2,318 houses by 2026. There are currently 4,000 households on the list and the council has said that another 2,825 will join the list before 2026. We will have more people on the housing list in Dún Laoghaire at the end of Housing for All than we have currently, even with the new delivery under Housing for All. In that context, the HAP limits must be somewhere approximating the rents that are out there. At the moment, trying to find a place that is affordable for the HAP limits is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
I acknowledge the work done in increasing the discretionary HAP - but that is only in the instances where there is risk of homelessness, or in the case of homelessness - and the extension of the couples rate to single people. This, however, is not enough, especially for those on the lowest incomes. There are 2,831 families on the Clare County Council housing list now, but there are also 1,186 HAP tenancies. I welcome that the council is currently working on adding additional social housing of 290 units across the county, but again it is just not enough. The most recent daft.ie report places average rents in Clare at an astronomical €1,239 per month. This is an increase of 11.7% on last year. The most recent snapshot from the Simon Community points to an 11.2% decrease of availability of properties under HAP. There is no denying that there is a need to bring the HAP rates into line with market rents in an indexed way.
I acknowledge the contributions of both Deputies for their respective areas. On the discretion levels, if including Dublin Region Homeless Executive area, the households in receipt of the discretionary HAP comes in at approximately 62%, and the average rate of discretion is at 25.5%. Excluding the Dublin Region Homeless Executive area, the average household in receipt of the discretionary rate is 56%, with an average rate of discretion of 19.4%. The increases in the discretionary HAP have been effective. It is important to note that. We must also note that some HAP recipients are making payments directly to their landlords beyond the amount of HAP that is being paid on their behalf. There is no legislative provision precluding HAP-supported households from making that contribution towards the monthly rent requirement 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 Deputies are absolutely correct that the Government is committed to reducing our reliance on HAP overall. The way to do that is through the delivery of the Housing for All in social, affordable and cost-rental, and the schemes that are in place. I welcome the points made by Deputy Wynne about the delivery of social housing in Clare. Over time, that is how we will reduce the reliance on HAP. The discretionary rates are in place and the local authorities, the tenants and the landlords are availing of them.
I want rent controls. The Government is not going to do that. I think the Minister of State should but he has set his face against it. We need public and affordable housing to replace HAP but, in the meantime, there is a problem. In Dún Laoghaire today, three one-bedroom units are available for €1,895, €1,507, and €1,900 per month, respectively. The rents for two-bedroom units are in excess of €2,000, €2,500 and €3,000. The one-bedroom unit maximum homeless HAP rate is €1,350, which is well below the highest priced one-bedroom unit. It is a similar picture all the way. If someone is told that he or she must go out to find a HAP tenancy, it is an exercise in despair and futility because they do not exist and, therefore, something has to be done to bridge the gap. If the Government will not bring in rent controls, it must raise the HAP rates to the rates rents are actually pitched at.
One in five HAP tenants in Clare is in receipt of the higher discretionary rate of payment. I do not know what it is in other constituencies but I imagine it is similar, if not higher. It is a clear indication there is a need, whether it is wanted or not, to increase and index the payment. I understand there was a concern with setting too high a floor on rents in the private rental market but HAP is now so far away from market rates that it is loading the weight of the housing crisis in the private rental sector onto the shoulders of our most vulnerable. This is completely unacceptable.
Will the Minister of State extend the scope of HAP to provide a potential tenant with the deposit for the rental agreement, with a view that the money would go back to the Government when the tenant receives the deposit back at the end of the tenancy? I have received a number of distressing calls where people have said they cannot afford the rent for the properties on daft.ie so they cannot even apply, and they are really struggling to get the deposit and are taking out loans to do so.
Deputy Boyd Barrett referred to his constituency in Dún Laoghaire. It is one of the local authorities, across all the local authorities, with the highest use of the discretionary HAP.
We are still approving 680 HAP tenancies per month. We have committed to reducing reliance on HAP, as we have stated, and that relates to delivery of supply of social, affordable and cost-rental housing.
Given the points made earlier by my colleague, the Minister, we are buying out 1,800 HAP tenancies with the use of the tenant in situ scheme. We are making considerable progress across the State in all local authorities, including Clare and in Dún Laoghaire, to try to reduce our reliance on HAP.
The discretionary rate is in place, and local authorities also have discretion in respect of local market conditions to exceed the maximum HAP rate rent limit by up to 35%, or 50% in the Dublin region, for households at immediate risk of homelessness. They should be proactive in the use of this discretion. It is also critically important that we continue the supply to reduce our reliance on HAP.
