Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the steps she is taking to support tenants in receipt of rent supplement, whose rent cap is reduced in the middle of a tenancy agreement, in order to prevent them from becoming homeless; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44326/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term 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. The overall aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. There are currently approximately 90,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €436 million for 2012.

Revised maximum rent limits under the rent supplement scheme came into force on 1 January 2012. The revised rent limits are applicable to new rent supplement tenancies from January 2012 and existing tenancies on review. Most claims are reviewed every six months, or when an existing lease expires. Consideration will be given for cases where a tenant is in a lease agreement which has a number of months to go before cessation.

Where a claim is under review and the rent is above the maximum limit the customer is being asked to contact the landlord to renegotiate the rent. Where a landlord does not agree to reduce the rent to the new rates department officials will discuss the options open to the tenant up to and including seeking alternative accommodation. Department officials dealing with rent supplement tenants will continue to ensure that their accommodation needs are met; there will be no incidence of homelessness due to these changes.