Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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195. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the increase charged by local authorities for tenants' rent; his plans to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32494/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, housing authorities are responsible for determining the rent for their social housing dwellings, subject to complying with the principle s that the rent payable should be related to household income and that low-income households should pay a lower proportion of income in rent. I have no function in relation to the setting of rents by any individual authority.

Section 58 of the 1966 Act will be replaced in due course by section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, which enables me to make Regulations providing for significant harmonisation of local authority rent levels nationally, while retaining some discretion for individual authorities in setting rents in their own areas. I am currently considering proposals for the implementation of section 31 of the 2009 Act on a phased basis, under which local authority rents will continue to be related to the tenant’s capacity to pay.