Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 May 2018
35. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the action he plans to take to address the difficulty of housing applicants in finding private rented accommodation within the HAP or homeless HAP limits in many parts of Dublin and the refusal of local authorities to provide increases in these limits in line with actual rents in these areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19870/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department and I are constantly monitoring housing assistance payment data and other key information relating to the private rental market. Indications are that the current HAP rent limits and the flexibility to exceed those rent limits provide local authorities with sufficient capacity to assist households in securing rented accommodation that meets their needs. Indeed, increasing the HAP rent limits in particular local authority areas could have further inflationary effects on the private rented sector, which could have a detrimental impact on the wider rental market, including for those households who are not receiving HAP support. From data available at the end of quarter 4 of 2017, approximately 46% of the total number of households in the Dublin region being supported by HAP were benefitting from the additional flexibility that was provided to local authorities to exceed the maximum rent limits. When the additional discretion available to homeless households is removed, 18.3% of HAP households were benefitting from the additional flexibility. In those cases, the average rate of discretionary payment being applied was 15.4% above rent limits provided. The average rate of discretion for homeless HAP scheme tenancies being applied was 29% above rent limits provided.
While I am satisfied that, in general, the HAP scheme continues to operate well in a challenging rental market, I will continue to keep the matter under review.
It is not working in my area. Rents are so far ahead of the limits that if one is told to get HAP, one might as well pack one's bags for the hub, albeit there is a queue for that as well. The Minister must answer the question for the people who come to me who have rung 50 places, which is no exaggeration. I tell people now to take note of the number of places they have called. They may have called 80. They face eviction or are in a hub and they are ringing, ringing and ringing. Within the limits or slightly above them, there is nothing. They cannot find anywhere. The number of HAP tenancies secured by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has plummeted. What does the Minister say to the person who finally finds a place which will take HAP but where the uplift required is beyond what the local authority is willing to give? People cannot find anything else. It is obvious from going on daft.ie or myhome.ie that this is the case. What does the Minister suggest for that person? Unless he or she gets the uplift, he or she is homeless.
I thank the Deputy for the question. I recognise that in Dún Laoghaire, which is the area he represents, there is a particular difficulty in securing HAP tenancies. I can see that when I look at the data. We have a place-finder in place to assist those who are trying desperately to find tenancies as well as offering one month's deposit and the first month's rent. There is a potential need to use HAP in a different way to help those who really cannot find a tenancy. We are working on that to see if something can be done over and above what is being done now to help people into HAP tenancies. Nationally, we have secured 353 HAP tenancies a week so far in 2018. HAP continues, therefore, to be a very important solution for those who are struggling to secure housing.
Of 163 HAP tenancies secured in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, 77% needed the additional discretionary payment. That went up to 18% which was still lower than the 20% uplift which is available in the system. When we add in the homeless HAP statistics, 190 tenancies were secured in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council area. That is 26 benefitting from the homeless HAP, which is 96% of the discretion. The average rate of the discretion above that is 29% when there is a 50% uplift in homeless HAP. When one looks at Dún Laoghaire, not everyone is availing of the additional discretion or needs to and when they do they are not taking it to the maximum. There is still room, even in Dún Laoghaire, to get more from HAP.
They are being refused.
