Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. The right of local authorities to set and collect rents on their dwellings is laid down in section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. The making or amending of rent schemes under section 58 is an executive function and is subject to broad principles laid down by the Department, including that the rent payable should be related to income and a smaller proportion of income should be required from low-income households; that provision should be included for the acceptance of a lower rent than that required under the terms of the scheme in exceptional cases where payment of the normal rent would give rise to hardship; and that appropriate local factors should be taken into account, including the costs of the maintenance and management of the stock of rented dwellings and the adequacy of the rental income to meet such costs.

Since 1986, when rent setting was devolved to individual local authorities, different approaches have been taken to rent charging and setting throughout the country. There are 36 separate differential rents schemes in operation nationwide. While local authorities generally follow the household means policy, there is variation in the extent to which they apply the income disregards set out in that policy in that differential rent schemes and differing approaches are taken to certain forms of income, such as the working family payment and the carer's allowance. With regard to caps on rent, a majority of local authorities impose a maximum amount of rent payable under this scheme for different property types, while a significant minority do not impose any such maximum rents.

Considerable work has been carried out by the Department in developing a draft national differential rents framework for the purposes of section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. Such a framework has as its main aim the harmonisation of local authority rents, including a set of standardised income disregards, while retaining the general principle of rents related to household income. This work is being examined further in the light of the broader commitment given in Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness to review the disparate systems of differential rent for social housing in place across local authorities. The overall objective is to ensure that housing supports are fair and sustainable and prioritise those on low incomes. It is expected that the review will be completed in the near future. At that point, any proposed changes to existing rent arrangements will be brought to Government as part of a wider social housing reform package of measures that it is hoped will be finalised in the coming months.