Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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549. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has issued instructions to local authorities on how to set differential rent rates for social housing tenants; if standardised differential rent assessment guidelines have been given to local authorities; if so, what these are; and if local authority tenants in some areas can expect to see an increase in their rents. [40793/15]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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552. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has issued new guidelines to local authorities in relation to the charging of rents on local authority housing and apartments in the past two years; the effect this will have on rents for local authority tenants, particularly on pensioners; the changes in the guidelines introduced from the previous guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40055/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 549 and 552 together.

Each housing authority is responsible, under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966, for determining the rent for its dwellings, subject to complying with broad principles laid down by my Department and the guidance issued in 2001 setting out good practice for the management of their rent assessment, accounting and collection functions. The primary principle set down is that the rent payable should be related to household income and that low-income households should pay a lower proportion of income in rent.

The current arrangements for determining local authority rents will be substantially replaced on the coming into force of Section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.Section 31 provides for the introduction of a national differential rents framework that will harmonise local authority rent levels, while retaining some discretion for individual authorities to set rents in their own areas. The introduction of the rent framework will mean that the amount of rent payable by some households may be subject to change in some cases. Detailed proposals for the implementation of Section 31 are currently being considered.