Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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161. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an update on the rental accommodation scheme programme, including the rents that are being paid across the country, broken down by county council, and with comparisons of rents being paid in 2012 and 2013; if RAS tenants have current notices to quit, and to provide details by county council; and the way he sees the councils fulfilling their duty of care to RAS tenants in situations where landlords terminate the tenancy. [15950/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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In the period since the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) commenced in late 2005 up to the end of January 2014, some 48,173 households have been transferred by local authorities from Rent Supplement to RAS and other social housing options. The amount of rent paid to private landlords through RAS is a matter for individual authorities, having regard to the need to obtain value for money. Based on data provided by local authorities who made returns to my Department for 2012, the average monthly rent paid by them to a private landlord in 2012 is as set out in the following table broken down by different category of units:

A similar exercise for 2013 is currently under way with authorities submitting their RAS financial data to my Department. Once all the individual returns are received, the data will be compiled and assessed.

My Department does not hold information on the number of households in RAS at any given time that have notices to quit. RAS is administered by local authorities who engage directly with tenants and landlords on an on-going basis. Accommodation provided under the scheme is governed by the terms of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended. The grounds upon which a tenancy in the private rented residential sector may be legally terminated are clearly set out in the 2004 Act. The Act provides the main regulatory framework for the private rented residential sector and provides for security of tenure. It also specifies minimum obligations for landlords and tenants under a tenancy.

As the RAS is now deemed to be a social housing support, local authorities retain the responsibility to source further accommodation for a RAS household, should the dwelling that the household is living in become unavailable through no fault of their own. Local authorities, with the cooperation of the tenants, will make every effort to source alternative accommodation as quickly as possible.