Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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595. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the review of the disparate systems of differential rents for social housing will be completed; if his attention has been drawn to the disparity between differential rents in County Wexford and south County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27702/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Rent policy has varied across housing authorities since 1986 with the result that households in similar circumstances may be charged different amounts of rent depending on the city/county they are living in.  There are currently 36 differential rent schemes in operation nationwide, which vary both in the amount of rent charged and in what is deemed to be income as well as other administrative matters.

At present the making of rent schemes and the setting of rent levels is a matter for each local authority under the provisions of the Housing Act 1966. Considerable work has been carried out by my Department in developing a draft national differential rents framework under section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. Such a framework had as its main aim the facilitation of a significant harmonisation in local authority rents, whilst retaining the general principle of rents related to household income.

The introduction of a rent framework could mean that the amount of rent payable by households may be subject to change in some cases. This work is 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 rent for social housing in place across local authorities. The overall objective is to ensure that housing supports are fair and sustainable, prioritise those on the lowest incomes and avoid creating social welfare traps that may prevent people from either returning to work or to the private housing market.

I expect that the review will be completed shortly.