Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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292. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if there is any policy benefit to the practice of maintaining the tenant and landlord rent negotiations at a maximum of 92% of the market value in rents; if she has conducted any assessment to determine if this is a more realistic and sustainable way to operate the rent supplement scheme that would ensure landlord buy in; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6359/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with reasonable accommodation costs of eligible people living in private rented accommodation who are unable to provide for their accommodation costs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from another source. There are currently approximately 79,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014.

Revised rent limits under the rent supplement scheme came into force with effect from Monday 17 June 2013 and will be in place until 31 December 2014. The new rent limits have been determined following an extensive review of the private rental market based on the most up-to-date data available at that time. The rent limits have been set using the 35th percentile of availability at that time ensuring that sufficient housing is available for recipients of the scheme. The purpose of the rent limit review is to ensure availability of accommodation for rent supplement tenancies and not to provide rent supplement tenants with access to all housing in all areas while ensuring that maximum value for money for tenants and the taxpayer is achieved.

There has been no assessment of the proposal by the Deputy to set maximum rent limits at 92% of the market value of rents. Increasing the maximum rent limits to 92% of the market value would have cost implications for the scheme and may also have the potential of pricing out working families on low incomes and students for suitable housing. The fact that some 79,000 people are being accommodated under the scheme shows that landlords are willing to engage with rent supplement recipients. I have no plans to revise the maximum rent limits or the methodology for determining the limits at this time.

The Department’s strategic policy direction is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of a short-term income support. In July 2013 the Government approved the introduction of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). Under HAP, responsibility for recipients of rent supplement with a long-term housing need will transfer from the Department of Social Protection to local authorities using HAP. Officials in the Department of Social protection are working with those in the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, who are leading the project, in developing proposals to give effect to this transfer. It is intended that the scheme will be piloted by the end of March 2014 in Limerick local authority with further roll out to selected authorities during the year.