John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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1035. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will consider increasing the homeless HAP rate payable for County Wicklow to bring it in line with the Dublin homeless HAP rate. [7261/20]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Maximum rent limits for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme are set for each housing authority area by the Housing Assistance Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2017, which are available on the Irish Statute Book website at the following link: .

The HAP limits were agreed in conjunction with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP). In reviewing rent limits, the Department worked closely with the DEASP and monitored data gathered from the Residential Tenancies Board and the HAP Shared Services Centre. The new rent limits set in the Regulations involved reflected significant increases on previous limits, in the order of 60% in some areas.

Local authorities also have discretion, because of local rental market conditions, to exceed the maximum rent limit by up to 20%, or up to 50% in the Dublin region for those households either in, or at immediate risk of, homelessness. The additional discretion available to homeless households recognises the difficulty this cohort of households faces in sourcing and securing properties in a highly competitive rental market. It is a matter for the local authority to determine if the application of the flexibility is warranted on a case by case basis and also the level of additional discretion applied in each case.

At end 2019, 42.7% of the total number of households being supported by HAP were benefiting from the additional flexibility. When the additional discretion available to homeless households in the Dublin region is removed, 36.0% of households nationally were benefiting from the additional flexibility. In those cases, the average rate of discretionary payment being used was 16.6% above rent limits provided. This increases to 22.5% when the Dublin region homeless area data is included. Wicklow County Council used discretion in 28.3% of HAP tenancies and the average level of discretion applied by Wicklow County Council was 16.5%.

HAP rent limits are kept under constant review, as is the use of discretion by local authorities, and the data indicates that there is no need to increase the rent limits at this time. I am also conscious that any such increase could have negative inflationary impacts, leading to a detrimental impact on the wider rental market, including for those households who are not receiving HAP support.

I am satisfied that the current maximum rent limits, together with the additional flexibility available to local authorities, are generally sufficient to support the effective operation of the HAP scheme. However, I will continue to keep the matter under review.