Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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786. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the estimated cost of increasing HAP by 20% in counties Dublin and Cork. [32333/17]

Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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787. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the estimated cost of creating new HAP thresholds at sub county levels for all local electoral areas that are designated as rent pressure zones and allowing a 10% increase in thresholds in these new areas. [32334/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 786 and 787 together.

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a flexible and immediate housing support that is now available to all eligible households throughout the State. The increased rent limits introduced by the Government last year, together with the additional discretion available to local authorities to exceed the maximum rent limit where necessary, are allowing HAP households to find suitable accommodation and willing landlords. On average in 2017, 333 additional tenancies are being supported by HAP each week, with just over 24,000 households currently having their housing needs met under the scheme, and some 18,000 separate landlords and agents currently in receipt of monthly HAP payments.

Each local authority has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment up to 20% above the prescribed maximum rent limit in circumstances where it is necessary, because of local rental market conditions, to secure appropriate accommodation for a household that requires it. It is a matter for the local authority to determine if the application of the flexibility is warranted on a case by case basis. Additional discretion of up to 50% above rent limits is available to assist in housing homeless households in the Dublin Region. The additional discretion available to homeless households recognises the difficulty this cohort of households face in sourcing and securing properties in a highly competitive rental market. 

At the end of Q1 2017, 14.4% of the total number of households across the country being supported by HAP were benefiting from the additional flexibility that was provided to local authorities to exceed the maximum rent limits. When homeless households in the Dublin area are excluded from this, 9.6% of all households being supported were benefiting from the additional flexibility.  In those cases, the average rate of discretionary payment being used was 14.3% above rent limits provided. The following table shows the percentage of households in each of 4 Dublin local authorities (excluding homeless households) and the two Cork local authorities areas being supported by HAP which were benefiting from the additional flexibility, and the average percentage rate of discretion in excess of the maximum rent limits utilised by the six local authorities for those households. 

*Excluding use of specific discretion for Homeless households

The local authority must make a decision on what level of support to provide based on the tenant’s current position and the needs of a household, as well as the market rents in that local area.  I am currently satisfied that the maximum rent limits, together with the additional flexibility available to local authorities, are sufficient to meet the demand of the rental market in these areas and, accordingly, the question of increasing the HAP limits does not arise.

The Government has provided €152.7 million to fund the cost of HAP in 2017, and I am satisfied that there are sufficient resources in place to meet this demand. Increasing the HAP rent limits in particular local authority areas could have further inflationary effects on the private rented sector, which could have a detrimental impact on the wider rental market, including for those households who are not receiving HAP support.

On 15 June 2017, my Department announced the launch of a public consultation on the review of the Rent Predictability Measure and the system of Rent Pressure Zones introduced last December. The consultation has allowed members of the public and interested parties to provide their opinions and suggestions on the functioning of the measure.  The submissions received from the consultation process, which concluded on 30 June 2017, will feed into the review of the measure. At this stage, the measure has been in place for 6 months and data from the Residential Tenancies Board’s Rent Index Report for Quarter 1 2017 is also available.  Using this latest data, it will be possible to ascertain the effectiveness of the Rent Predictability Measure and whether any changes need to be made.

I am satisfied that the HAP scheme is generally working well but I will keep its operation under on-going review, including considering the impact of the Rent Predictability Measure on Social Housing Supports, including HAP, as part of the current review.