Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

112. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the increasing difficulty potential tenants are having finding properties that accept HAP; and if there are measures planned to try and combat this situation for tenants. [47106/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) provides fast, flexible housing support to households and has been rolled out on a statutory phased basis since September 2014, with the nationwide rollout being completed on 1 March 2017. The phased nature of the HAP rollout has allowed for significant learning, with new HAP authorities benefitting from the experience of those authorities where the scheme had been previously operational.

At the end of Quarter 2 2018, over 37,750 tenancies were being supported by the HAP scheme, including over 9,000 additional households in 2018, with an average weekly set up of 350 tenancies. There are now 21,000 separate landlords and agents currently in receipt of monthly HAP payments.

A landlord or an agent acting on behalf of a landlord is not legally obliged to enter into a tenancy agreement with a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) recipient. However, since 1 January 2016, a person cannot be discriminated against when renting because they are in receipt of certain housing related payments, including HAP. If a person feels that they have been discriminated against by a landlord or their agent, they can make a complaint under the Equal Status Acts to the Workplace Relations Commission.

Under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), a tenant sources their own accommodation. The tenancy agreement is between the tenant and the landlord and is covered by the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended). The accommodation sourced by tenants should be within the prescribed maximum HAP rent limits, which are based on household size and the rental market within the area concerned.

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.

At the end of Q2 2018, 21.3% of the total number of households being supported by HAP were benefitting from the additional flexibility (excluding those households accommodated through the homeless HAP arrangements in Dublin). In those cases, the average rate of discretionary payment being used was 15.7%above rent limits provided.

The data available to my Department indicates that the current rent limits and the flexibility to exceed those rent limits provide local authorities with sufficient capacity to assist households in securing rented accommodation that meets their needs.

The Homeless HAP Place Finder Service is a targeted support for homeless households who are finding it difficult to secure HAP tenancies. The Place Finder Service has been successfully utilised by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) across the Dublin local authorities since February 2015, with more than 3,000 households being supported by the Homeless HAP scheme at end Q2 2018. The Homeless HAP Place Finder Service is now available to each of the 31 local authorities, with the options to pay deposits and advance rental payments for any households in emergency homeless accommodation, in order to secure accommodation via the HAP Scheme.

I continue to keep the operation of HAP under review but I am currently satisfied with how the scheme is operating and I consider it to be a key vehicle for meeting current housing need and fulfilling the ambitious programme set out in Rebuilding Ireland.