I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 52 together.
The rent supplement scheme provides support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. There are approximately 70,700 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €298 million for in 2015.
Under the legislative provisions governing rent supplement, the Department’s relationship is with the tenant; the tenant makes the application for rent supplement and payment is made to the tenant to assist them with their accommodation needs. There is no direct contractual relationship between the landlord and the Department in the administration of the scheme. However, social welfare legislation provides for the payment of a rent supplement payment to a nominated payee such as a landlord on behalf of the tenant. This arrangement is entered at the tenant’s request and subject to the consent of the Department. The efficiency of the rent supplement scheme would be significantly affected if all payments were to be made directly to landlords for the provision of short term support.
It is open to the landlord to bring to the attention of the Department any instance where they suspect that a tenant is receiving rent supplement and is not paying their rent. Where the Department becomes aware that a person is not using rent supplement to meet the accommodation costs, payment of the supplement is suspended and the matter investigated. Where a landlord has a grievance in relation to the non-payment of rent by a tenant, s/he may apply to the Private Residential Tenancies Board to have the dispute resolved through the Board’s dispute resolution process.
Under the new Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) responsibility for recipients of rent supplement with a long-term housing need will transfer from this Department to housing authorities. Under this scheme, HAP payments will be made directly to landlords by the housing authorities. HAP is currently being rolled out to selected housing authorities, with some 790 HAP recipients currently. There is a target to achieve 8,400 HAP cases in 2015 as set out in the “Social Housing Strategy 2020: Support, Supply and Reform”. The Department continues to support the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, and housing authorities to ensure the success of the HAP scheme.