Written answers

Thursday, 16 April 2015

Department of Social Protection

Rent Supplement Scheme Administration

Photo of Terence FlanaganTerence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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52. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will increase rent allowance in line with increasing rental prices throughout the county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15003/15]

Photo of Kevin HumphreysKevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The rent supplement scheme provides 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. There are currently approximately 70,000 rent supplement recipients, for which Government has provided over €298 million for 2015.

The Department recently published a review of the maximum rent limits, "Maximum Rent Limit Analysis and Findings" and it is available on www.welfare.ie. The review finds that increasing rent limits at this time could potentially add to further rental inflation in an already distressed market, affecting not alone rent supplement recipients, but lower-income workers and students. Between the rent supplement scheme and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) administered by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the State accounts for a third of the private rented market. The State is therefore a very significant player in the sector which has a responsibility not alone to rent supplement recipients but also to the market as a whole, including all those in private accommodation.

In light of the review’s findings, the Department will instead continue to allow for flexibility in assessing customers’ accommodation needs through the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework. Under this approach, each tenant’s circumstances are considered on a case-by-case basis and rents can be increased above prescribed limits if deemed appropriate. In excess of 1,000 rent supplement recipients have received support through increased rent limits to date in order to retain their rented accommodation.

In addition, the Department in conjunction with Threshold operates a Tenancy Sustainment Protocol in the Dublin and Cork areas where supply is most acute. The primary objective of the Protocol is to ensure a speedy intervention to ensure that families at immediate risk of losing their tenancy get rapid assistance.

The review clearly points out that the main cause of difficulty for persons renting or seeking to rent at this time is the much reduced availability of affordable private rented accommodation. The issue of supply is being addressed by Government through the Construction 2020 Strategy and the Social Housing Strategy.

I am keeping this matter under close review to ensure that the appropriate supports continue to be provided for rent supplement recipients.

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