Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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197. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the details of the legal underpinning for the setting of local authority and approved housing body rents; the role elected members of local authorities have in the setting of differential rent schemes; and his plans to change the current arrangements for the setting of differential rents in social housing. [10709/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Section 58(3) of the Housing Act 1966 provides that subject to such Regulations as may be made by the Minister under the section, a housing authority may charge such rent or other payment, as they may determine from time to time, in respect of a dwelling of which they are the owner. The making and amending of rent schemes is accordingly the responsibility of housing authorities as an integral part of their housing management functions; broad principles in relation to this matter were laid down by my Department in Circular letter HRT 3/2002 of 6 March 2002. The making of a rent scheme is an executive function.

Section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 allows the Minister to make regulations in respect of various matters to be included in a rent scheme. These can include the sources of household income that may be assessed for the purpose of determining rent levels. Considerable work has been carried out by my Department in developing a draft framework for a harmonisation of the approach to be taken by local authorities in regard to various aspects of rent schemes. This includes providing for a common set of income disregards to be applied by all housing authorities in determining a household’s assessable income for rent calculation purposes.

These proposals are now being examined further in the light of the broader commitment given in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, to review the disparate systems of differential rents for social housing in place across local authorities. The overall aim is to ensure that housing supports are fair and sustainable, prioritise those on lowest incomes and avoid creating social welfare traps that may prevent people from either returning to work or to the private housing market, while also recognising the fact that a range of approaches to differential rents have become established in different local authority areas. This review is scheduled to be completed before the end of Quarter 2 2017.

In relation to Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), three new sections - sections 19A, 20A and 22A - were inserted into the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 Act by the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 to provide for the setting of rents and rent reviews in AHB tenancies. Section 19A provides for the setting of rent in AHB tenancies and provides, in general terms, that AHB rents are determined by the funding agreements with local authorities.

Where social housing units are provided by AHBs under Payment and Availability (P&A) arrangements with local authorities, it is a condition of such funding that rents be determined in accordance with the differential rents scheme of the housing authority in which the house is situated. Where sheltered housing is provided by AHBs under the Capital Assistance Scheme, my Department’s guidance states that rents should be at levels which are reasonable having regard to tenant’s incomes and the outlay of the AHB on the accommodation.