John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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619. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if there is a statutory or indicative timescale for notification to a landlord of any problem in a tenancy supported by the housing assistance payment, whether through differential rent being unpaid or any other problem; the rationale in the legislation for the housing assistance payment to be paid in arrears, rather than in advance, as is normal in the private rental sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48415/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 provides the statutory framework for the Housing Assistance Payment ( HAP ). Under HAP, the social housing tenant sources the accommodation, the housing authority pays the landlord directly and the HAP household pays a rental contribution to the housing authority.Under section 36 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, tenancies supported under HAP are generally subject to the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. In that context, any issues in respect of a tenancy being supported under HAP are a matter for resolution between the landlord and tenant concerned.

The 2014 Act provides for contact between a housing authority and the landlord of a dwelling supported under HAP in relation to, inter alia, tax compliance, payment of assistance and in relation to inspections for the purposes of compliance of dwellings with private rented accommodation standards. There is no requirement on a housing authority in Part 4 of the 2014 Act to notify a landlord about other issues relating to eligibility for HAP that are properly dealt with between the authority and the HAP beneficiary concerned.

To date, HAP has been rolled out in seven local authority areas, as part of a statutory pilot phase of the scheme. There are now 382households in receipt of HAP across the local authority areas taking part in the statutory pilot. Limerick City and County Council is providing a transactional shared service to the local authorities participating in this phase and HAP households are generally required to enter into automatic electronic payment arrangements, through An Post’s Household Budget scheme. Limerick City and County Council reports that rent collection levels in the pilot are good.

In common with standard practice in other schemes of financial support for social housing, local authorities are paying housing assistance to landlords monthly in arrears in the pilot phase of the HAP scheme. A full review of the statutory pilot phase of the scheme will be carried out in advance of full roll out HAP in 2015. This review will include data and learning from the pilot authorities in relation to the implementation of the statutory scheme.

There has been ongoing contact and information sharing with landlord representative bodies as HAP has been developed and rolled out and this will continue.