Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to be here to initiate the passage through the Seanad of this important piece of housing legislation which provides for innovative and necessary changes to social housing support and assistance in Ireland.

The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014 before the House today will bring important changes to the framework of social housing support. With the publication of the Bill, the Government meets another commitment in the programme for Government and achieves one of the key reforms contained within the current housing policy statement, namely, that the main focus in terms of housing supports must be on meeting the most acute needs of those unable to provide for their accommodation from their own resources. This is particularly so because of the constraints on our resources. Nevertheless, there are clear signs that we are turning the corner on the Government's aims of achieving economic recovery and growing employment which, ultimately, will enhance what we can achieve in the areas of housing and will also help to reduce the numbers of those at risk. In line with these promising trends it is important to note that work is under way in my Department on reviewing and renewing the social housing policy, which will be published later this year.

We are all only too familiar with the issues currently arising in the housing sector, more acutely seen perhaps here in Dublin than anywhere else. The serious constraints and supply problems place a spotlight on the housing policy and finances. As public representatives we see the growing and changing demand for housing supports every day. We need a system of housing supports that is more effective, more efficient, more coherent and that better serves the needs of people. It has long been accepted that one of the key State housing supports, the rent supplement system, was ill-used and was becoming a much longer-term support than was ever intended. The Bill will reform how the State provides rent support. The new housing assistance payment, which is provided for in the Bill, will introduce a more coherent and joined-up system of housing support which will be better for tenants, landlords and housing authorities.

I wish to on the record of this House that the main avenue, in my view, is to tackle social housing demand is to create more social housing units, either through local authorities or the not-for-profit voluntary sector. That is the most important challenge in social housing policy.

To date this year, I have announced more than €200 million in funding that will be used to build, purchase or refurbish some 2,900 units in the coming 24 months. As the economy improves, I am determined to fight for additional housing capital resources to increase social housing supply. However, it is important to be realistic. More than 70,000 households are in receipt of rent supplement. A large number of households will in the short to medium term meet their housing needs in the private rented sector with State support. These households cannot be ignored. For too long, they were dependent on a rent supplement system that was not fit for purpose. It resulted in a fractured approach to social housing; it penalised people for taking up employment; it created a poverty trap; and it made inspection of standards difficult for local authorities. The Bill reforms how we support households in meeting their housing needs in the private rented sector. It is good for the State and tenants and recognises the problems faced by landlords.

In providing for a more coherent, responsive system of housing support the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014 places all long-term supports with local authorities, which will make for a better, fairer system. In addition, the Bill provides for implementation of mandatory direct deduction of rental contributions due to housing authorities from the welfare payments of housing assistance payment, HAP, recipients and local authority tenants, which is a key provision in avoiding and combating the build-up of rent arrears that cause significant financial difficulty for local authorities but more significantly for tenants. The HAP scheme is an opportunity to improve standards and levels of compliance, remove employment traps and create a more equal and fair social housing system where the rights and opportunities available to tenants in different forms of social housing are vastly improved. Households that move onto the new HAP will retain the ability to apply for other social housing options. I stress this point because it was raised frequently in the other House. These options include the traditional local authority house or a unit provided by the voluntary sector. As the household will be within the local authority system, they will do this by joining the relevant local authority's transfer list. The transfer list will reflect the specific priority or previous position the household had on the previous waiting list within the authority area in which they are resident. The principle will be that the reasonable expectations of households should be preserved. They will, therefore, be placed on a transfer list with no less favourable terms than if they had remained on the main housing waiting list.

Following the passage of this legislation I will, using my powers under section 22 of the Housing Act 2009, require every local authority to provide access to the transfer list to households that transfer to the HAP scheme and also to reserve a proportion of allocations for households on the transfer list. The Bill also provides for two other significant areas of reform, namely, the termination of local authority tenancies and the tenant purchase of local authority houses.

Section 62 has withstood judicial scrutiny during the years, but the passage of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 resulted in a stream of litigation claiming that the section 62 repossession procedure used by housing authorities was incompatible with the convention. The Supreme Court delivered a judgment in 2012 in two such cases, making a declaration under the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 in respect of one of these cases. In its judgment it declared that section 62 of the Housing Act 1966 was incompatible with the convention where there was a factual dispute about the basis for the evictions as it did not provide for an independent hearing of the merits of the proposed eviction. However, the court made no such declaration in the second case, in which it found there was no dispute about the basis of the proposed repossession. New legislation is, therefore, required in this area to provide for repossession procedures compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights Act.

The changes proposed in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014 deserve the widespread support of the Seanad. The Bill is set out in five Parts, with 58 sections, and I will refer in some detail to the main provisions.

Part 1 of the Bill contains standard provisions dealing with Title, collective citations, construction and commencement. It also provides for the interpretation of key terms, regulations, orders and directions, repeals, revocations and amendments to the Housing Acts, including the Housing Act 2009 which remains a core housing statute, as well as other technical provisions such as legal savers and provision for expenses.

Part 2 of the Bill repeals the repossession procedure set out in section 62 of the Housing Act 1966 and sets out a revised procedure for repossessing local authority dwellings where serious breaches of tenancy agreements have occurred, including anti-social behaviour and breaches of rescheduling arrangements for rent arrears.

Warnings issued to tenants by housing authorities for such breaches will include the right of the tenant to request a review of the warning.

Sections 7 to 11 set out procedures for tenancy warnings and their review. In the case of non-compliance with tenancy warnings for anti-social behaviour housing authorities will have strengthened powers under sections 12 and 13 to either recover possession of the dwelling or seek an exclusion order, as appropriate. Sections 14 to 17 deal with abandoned local authority dwellings and recovery of property in the case of death of a tenant and certain other cases. We can all agree that we have no wish to see very many tenancies terminated in this way but we also know the havoc and misery that anti-social behaviour can cause to communities. It is important to have a mechanism available that meets the highest standards of our human and civil rights obligations for all concerned. This part also provides a legislative mechanism to update all existing local authority tenancy agreements to reflect new legislation without the necessity to terminate all existing agreements for the purpose of entering into new agreements incorporating updated terms and conditions.

Part 3 provides one of the measures most sought after by tenants, that is, an incremental purchase scheme for existing houses which will cover local authority houses other than newly-built or newly-acquired houses and local authority apartments, which are covered by the existing incremental purchase schemes under the 2009 Act. The incremental purchase scheme detailed in sections 21 to 30 offers a number of key benefits. For families, the scheme offers the path to home ownership for those willing and able to undertake a house purchase. The scheme is structured to make it attractive for people to retain long-term roots in the community and to continue their commitment to an area, thereby contributing to more stable and integrated communities. On Committee Stage in the Dáil I deleted the requirement in section 25 on a tenant purchaser of an existing local authority house to obtain the prior written consent of the housing authority to carry out material improvements to the house during the period of the incremental purchase on the property. This will make it easier for purchasers to improve their homes with consequent benefits for the construction sector generally.

In due course, I will make regulations on specific aspects of the new scheme, including the qualifying conditions for applicants, calculation of discounts, the method used by local authorities to determine the purchase price and discount and the period of the charging order. The Bill also includes provision for a claw-back to enable the State to benefit appropriately from any resale of the purchased property. This is a worthwhile and innovative initiative deserving of the support of the Seanad.

Part 4 is probably the most important and certainly the most reforming part of the Bill. It provides the statutory framework for the introduction of the housing assistance payment. This new scheme is being designed to bring together all long-term social housing services provided by the State under the local authority system. The qualification of a household for social housing support will have to be determined by a housing authority through a statutory social housing assessment and the authority must be satisfied that assistance under the scheme is an appropriate form of support for that household. The provision of assistance under the scheme can include a path to alternative forms of support, where appropriate and where required. HAP beneficiaries will source their own accommodation in the private rented market, as currently happens with rent supplement, and will enter into a tenancy agreement with the landlord concerned. The housing authority will pay the rent for the accommodation directly to the landlord on behalf of the household, which will be required to pay a rent contribution to the authority calculated in accordance with the authority's differential rent scheme. To be included in the HAP scheme the accommodation must meet the statutory standards for rented accommodation and the landlord must be tax compliant. These provisions will provide a new framework for the provision of long-term rental assistance. They can, in collaboration with other measures, help to create a more coherent and effective system for all concerned. The new framework can also facilitate the removal of some existing barriers to employment by allowing HAP recipients to remain in the scheme if they gain full-time employment. The Bill includes provisions detailing ineligibility for HAP, the cessation of a HAP payment and amendments to the Housing Acts 1966 to 2013 that are consequential on the introduction of HAP. There are also provisions allowing for transitional arrangements to facilitate the roll-out of HAP in Limerick and the six housing authorities selected for participation in the first phase of HAP following enactment.

On Committee Stage in the Dáil, I put forward an amendment which provides for an internal review procedure for certain HAP decisions. This provision is contained in section 48 of the Bill.
Part 5 of the Billincludes a number of miscellaneous provisions, notably section 53, which provides for the implementation of mandatory direct deduction of rental contributions due to housing authorities from the welfare payments of HAP recipients and local authority tenants. This Part also includes provisions for data sharing and exchange between housing authorities, the Department of Social Protection, my Department and other relevant bodies for the administration of the housing functions of local authorities. This Part now also includes a new section 54 making a range of amendments to the rent supplement provisions in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 that are required as a result of the introduction of the new housing assistance payment.
What was very clear from all the contributions during the passage of this legislation through the Dáil was the passion that representatives feel about the need to tackle housing issues. The same passion is strongly held by this Government and by me, as Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning. I know it is also very strongly held by Members of the Seanad. The Government is committed to turning our passion into effective action and reform. This Bill provides long-awaited coherence and equity to long-term social housing support. I am confident that it will improve the ability of housing authorities to plan and deliver their services in a coherent, flexible and responsive manner by bringing all long-term social housing services provided by the State together under the local authority system. The Bill provides for legal clarity in respect of repossession procedures and brings coherence and consistency to tenant purchase within the State.
It is an important reform. However, as I mentioned earlier, it is by no means a panacea. The real challenge in social housing is to supply more social homes, so that families are not left on waiting lists or transfer lists for an inordinate period of time. We are currently using every euro available to us to increase the supply of homes. I mentioned that funding for 2,900 has been approved this year, but much more must be done.
I commend the Bill to the House.