Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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523. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the number of landlords who will not accept tenants in receipt of rent allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13536/14]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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536. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the provisions being put in place to deal with the rent allowance shortfall and the fact that many hard-pressed tenants are forced to make additional monthly top up payments to secure the rental property in the first instance; and the way this impromtu solution leads to a distortion of actual rent figures and the allowances needed by social welfare recipients to secure a home. [13768/14]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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540. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the safeguards that are in place to ensure that landlords of rent allowance properties receive the rent allowance from their tenants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13819/14]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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569. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the amount that was paid in rental supplement in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8 respectively in each year from 2007 to date in tabular form; the number of individual claims for each year in those areas; the rental limits that applied; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14160/14]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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570. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to increase the rent supplement levels in the Dublin city area due to the increase in market rents and the difficulties persons are having in securing accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14161/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 523, 536, 540, 569 and 570 together.

The purpose of rent supplement 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 78,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014. Following an extensive review of the private rental market revised maximum rent limits were introduced from Monday 17 June 2013 until 31 December 2014. Despite the overall pressures on the social protection budget, there have been increases in the rent limits in some areas including Dublin. The fact that approximately 78,000 people are currently in receipt of rent supplement, of which almost 30,000 are in the Dublin area, shows that a significant number of landlords are accommodating applicants on the scheme.

A breakdown of rent supplement expenditure in Dublin by postal code is not available. Rent supplement recipients in Dublin each year since 2007 is provided in the attached tabular statement. Rent supplement recipients in Dublin 2, 4, 6, 6W and 8 at end 2012 and 2013 are also provided, however this information is not available for earlier years. The maximum rent limits in operation in Dublin since 2007 are also provided.

All prospective tenants, including those seeking to access rent supplement, are finding it increasingly difficult to secure appropriate accommodation due to the reduced availability of rental properties, particularly in Dublin. Increasing the maximum rent limits for rent supplement will not resolve this difficulty, due to the reduced level of supply, and would result in further increases in rental costs for all persons renting including those on reduced incomes and students. The Department continues to monitor trends in the private rental market to determine the impact on rent supplement recipients and is working closely with Dublin City Council and Threshold to ensure that the necessary arrangements can be put in place in respect of vulnerable families in receipt of rent supplement.

Department officials administering rent supplement have considerable experience in dealing with customers of the scheme and will continue to make every effort to ensure that their accommodation needs are met and that the residence is reasonably suited to their residential and other needs.

Under the legislative provisions governing rent supplement, the Department’s relationship is with the tenant; the tenant makes the application for rent supplement and payment is made to the tenant to assist them with their accommodation needs. There is no direct relationship between the landlord and the Department in the administration of the scheme. However, social welfare legislation provides for the payment of a rent supplement payment to a nominated payee such as a landlord on behalf of the tenant. This arrangement is entered at the tenant’s request and subject to the consent of the Department.

It is open to the landlord to bring to the attention of the Department any instance where they suspect that a tenant is receiving rent supplement and is not paying their rent. Where the Department becomes aware that a person is not using rent supplement to meet the accommodation costs, payment of the supplement is suspended and the matter investigated. Where a landlord has a grievance in relation to the non-payment of rent by a tenant, s/he may apply to the Private Residential Tenancies Board to have the dispute resolved through the Board’s dispute resolution process.

Rent supplement is calculated to ensure that an eligible person, after the payment of rent, has a minimum income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) appropriate to their family circumstances, less a minimum weekly contribution of €30 for a single person or €40 for a couple. Where a person has an additional income above the rate of SWA they are, in certain circumstances, required to top up their rent.

The tenant, landlord or landlord’s agent must complete the rent supplement application form declaring that the information provided is accurate. The form clearly states that making a false statement or withholding information may lead to prosecution.

The Department, in June 2012, introduced powers of enquiry for staff to formally request and oblige landlords to provide information in respect of rent supplement tenants, principally to verify the agreed rent and tenancy.

Any instance of false declarations of the amount of rent payable should be reported to the relevant Department representatives who have specific legislative powers to deal with such offences. In such cases the Department’s representative will discuss the circumstances of the case with the tenant before making any decision in relation to ongoing entitlement.

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. Payments will be made direct to landlords under the HAP scheme. Officials in the Department are working closely with those in the lead Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, to pilot HAP in Limerick local authority in early 2014 with further roll out to selected local authorities during the year.

Table 1: Rent Supplement Recipients in Dublin.