Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 February 2017
358. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 293 of 7 February 2017, if notice of termination constitutes exceptional circumstances, thereby allowing a transfer from the rental accommodation scheme onto the housing assistance payment scheme and vice versa in such circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9762/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder Part 4 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, which provides for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, a household in receipt of another form of social housing support, such as accommodation provided under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS), will not generally be eligible for HAP. The legislation does allow for the provision of HAP where a housing authority is satisfied that the household is unable to continue to live in a dwelling, provided under a different form of social housing support, due to exceptional or emergency circumstances. A key principle of the HAP scheme is that eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector, which best suits their needs in their area of choice. This is distinct from RAS, which is a different type of social housing support where the tenant may not always find their own accommodation and instead are allocated a dwelling in accordance with Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. As such, unlike HAP, in general where a RAS tenancy as an allocated dwelling is ending, the local authority retains the responsibility to source further accommodation for that household. The ending of a RAS tenancy is not considered an emergency in the context of Part 4 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014.
