Eoghan Murphy (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

48. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if Government policy should better link her Department with the Private Residential Tenancies Board, allowing money to be paid directly from her Department to the landlord. [20947/15]

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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 approximately 69,000 rent supplement recipients, for which the Government has provided a total of over €298 million in 2015.

The Department works closely with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) to help ensure that rent supplement tenancies comply with the statutory system of tenancy regulation and safeguards. The Department advises the PRTB, on a quarterly basis, of all new rent supplement tenancies to assist them in implementing tenancy regulations and co-operates in any initiatives taken by the PRTB to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act.

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.

The efficiency of the rent supplement scheme would be significantly affected if all payments were to be made directly to landlords, for the provision of short term support. The Department’s strategic policy direction is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of being a short term income support by transferring responsibility for persons with long term housing needs to the local authorities under the Housing Assistance Payment Scheme (HAP). HAP is being designed so as to bring all of the social housing services provided by the State together under the local authority system and is currently being rolled out in selected local authority areas. Under HAP the local authority pays the rent directly to the landlord.