Written answers

Tuesday, 15 October 2019

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Housing Assistance Payment Administration

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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626. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on the fact that housing assistance payment applications are taking up to eight weeks to process; his further views that this timeline is acceptable in view of the demand for such properties; and if he will investigate the possibility of reducing this timeline. [41842/19]

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is deemed to be a social housing support under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. As a long term housing support, an assessment of housing need must be completed in order for a household to qualify for HAP. Any household with an identified housing need is eligible for HAP. The Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 provide that subject to conditions, a housing authority shall deal with such an application within a period of 12 weeks.  Local authorities will prioritise housing needs assessments for those in greatest need and average waiting times are significantly shorter than the statutory maximum in many areas.

If a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it is a matter for the local authority to examine the suite of social housing supports available, including the HAP scheme, to determine the most appropriate form of social housing support for that household in the administrative area of that local authority.  Accordingly, the determination of entitlement to HAP, including the assessment of an applicant's means, is governed by the same arrangements as for other social housing supports.

Under the HAP scheme, eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector and the tenancy agreement is between the tenant and the landlord.  The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants.

The HAP application form comes in two parts; Section A to be completed by the applicant tenant and Section B to be completed by the landlord or agent. An application for HAP will only be accepted by the local authority when both Section A and Section B are completed, signed and returned, along with the required supporting documentation.  Any delay in tenants and landlords supplying this information will impact on the processing time of the HAP application.  The earliest date a HAP payment to the landlord will apply from is the date a complete and valid HAP application has been received by the local authority.

Limerick City and County Council provide a highly effective transactional shared service on behalf of all HAP local authorities. This HAP Shared Services Centre (SSC) manages all HAP related rental transactions for the tenant, local authority and landlord. Once a HAP application has been received and confirmed as valid by the relevant local authority, it is then processed by the HAP SSC. On average, HAP applications are processed by the HAP Shared Service Centre within 2 working days of receipt. Any rental payment arising for a given month will then be made to a landlord on the last Wednesday of that month.

The HAP scheme has been structured in a way that most protects the Exchequer funding by ensuring that payment issues only on valid and complete applications. For this reason rent is paid in arrears and ensures that money is only paid in respect of time that the property has actually been occupied by the tenant. This practice also avoids a situation where the local authority has to attempt to recover money from the landlord and simplifies the administration of the scheme.

At the end of Q2 2019, there were more than 48,000 households in receipt of HAP support and over 28,000 separate landlords and agents providing accommodation to households supported by the scheme. My Department continues to keep the operation of the HAP scheme under review.

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