Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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883. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if an extension to the three-month moratorium on evictions due to expire on 30 June 2020 has been considered particularly for persons with an underlying health condition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13075/20]

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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896. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is considering extending the ban of housing evictions due to Covid-19; if tenants engaging in antisocial behaviour will be excluded from such a ban; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13416/20]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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904. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the rent freeze and ban on evictions beyond July 2020 will be extended until the end of January 2021 to provide stability and security for renters that will be disproportionately affected by Covid-19 and the financial aftermath of same. [13625/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 883, 884, 896 and 904 together.

With effect from 27 March 2020, under new emergency measures introduced into law to protect tenants during the COVID-19 emergency period, tenants cannot be forced to leave their rental accommodation, other than in exceptional circumstances. The measures also prohibit any increase to rent for the duration of the emergency period. These emergency laws initially applied for a period of 3 months from the enactment of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 but, on the request of the former Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, the former Government, by Order, extended their application until 20 July 2020.

Under the legislation, the process for any extension of the COVID-19 emergency period involves the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government requesting the Government to make an Order, having consulted with the Minister for Health and with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.  The Government must consider it appropriate and be satisfied that it is in the public interest to extend the emergency period having regard to the following: 

- the threat to public health;  

- the highly contagious nature of COVID-19; and 

- the need to restrict the movement of persons to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Any future request to Government to make an Order to extend the emergency period will be made at the appropriate time and in accordance with the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020. 

Where a tenant is engaging in anti-social behaviour, a notice of termination cannot be served during the emergency period; however, tenants must continue to pay rent and observe the other normal terms and conditions of their lease. An Garda Síochána should be contacted, if necessary, to safeguard the local community and property.

The RTB would encourage landlords and tenants to communicate with each other during the emergency period to see if a resolution to any disputes can be found. The RTB is also encouraging all customers who may require assistance or advice to contact them via their web chat service as there may be delays to their phone lines during the emergency period. The webchat service can be accessed at the following link: .

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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888. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the measures he plans to put in place to control the excess rent requirement in view of increased rents, leading to increasingly unaffordable excess rent payable by renters within the HAP system. [13330/20]

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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906. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if rent arrears accrued by tenants during the lockdown period of Covid-19 will be cancelled. [13658/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 885, 888 and 906 together.

Tenants are required to pay rent to their landlord during the COVID-19 emergency period and, in the event of tenants having difficulty doing so, they are encouraged to engage with their landlords at the earliest opportunity.  They should also engage with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) as income supports and Rent Supplement are available to assist them.  Further information on these supports can be found by calling the DEASP Income Support Helpline for Covid-19 on 1890 800 024 or by visiting the DEASP website at:

https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation/department-of-employment-affairs-and-social-protection/?referrer=https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/home.aspx 

My Department and the RTB urge landlords to consider the negative impacts of COVID-19 on their tenants and to show forbearance where temporary rent arrears might arise. My Department is conducting a piece of research on the potential accumulation of rent arrears during the emergency period in conjunction with the ESRI as part of the established Department/ESRI housing research programme.  The research will have regard to the range of rental and income supports being made available to those affected by COVID-19, and will assess the combined impact that these supports together with the changed consumption patterns have on the incidence of arrears.

My Department recently published a Guidance Document on COVID-19 supports for landlords and tenants, which sets out the emergency rental measures and income and other supports available to tenants and landlords during the emergency period.The Guidance document is available at: 

https://onestopshop.rtb.ie/images/uploads/general/COVID_Update_Guidance_Document_final.pdf 

and a list of Frequently Asked Questions has been developed and is available at:

https://onestopshop.rtb.ie/images/uploads/Comms%20and%20Research/FAQs_on_Emergency_Legislation_Final.pdf 

The RTB is encouraging all customers who may require assistance or advice, including in relation to any threatened eviction, to contact them via their web chat service as there may be delays to their phone lines during the emergency period. The webchat service can be accessed at the following link: .

Under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, a tenant sources their own accommodation in the private rented market. The tenancy agreement is between the tenant and the landlord and is governed by the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, as amended.  HAP supported tenancies are afforded the same protections as all private rented tenancies.  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.

My Department is aware that some HAP recipients are making payments directly to their landlords, beyond the amount of HAP being paid on their behalf. There is no legislative provision precluding HAP supported households contributing towards the monthly rent to their landlord beyond that of their HAP payment. However, decisions in relation to HAP, including the suitability of HAP accommodation, is solely a matter for the local authority concerned and local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that tenancies are sustainable and are advised not to provide HAP support to tenancies where the household would not be in a position to meet the rental costs being sought.

Where HAP tenants are not financially impacted by the COVID-19 measures, they are expected to continue to pay their HAP differential rent.  However, if tenants’ circumstances change, the local authority should reassess those tenants and adjust their differential rent accordingly. Local authorities have been requested to ensure that HAP tenants newly in receipt of Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) supports be facilitated in remaining in their HAP tenancies. If amendments cannot be made immediately to a tenant’s differential rent amount, any arrears accumulating from the date of approval of the new DEASP support should be rectified at a later date.This will not affect the HAP payment to the landlord.

The DEASP Rent Supplement scheme continues to play a key role in supporting families and individuals in private rented accommodation, with the scheme currently supporting approximately 21,200 recipients. The scheme provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The scheme ensures that renters experiencing a temporary loss of employment during the COVID-19 emergency can continue to meet their rental commitments.

Since the introduction of the former Government’s COVID-19 emergency response approximately, 6,700 customers have been provided Rent Supplement support; in addition, there are currently, approximately, 1,100 pending applications awaiting a decision or in the process of providing the necessary documentation to the officer dealing with their claim. The DEASP response to the COVID-19 emergency has ensured the flexibility of the Rent Supplement scheme via specific measures to prevent undue delays in processing applications despite the large number of new cases received over a relatively short timeframe. The 2/3 day turnaround of applications ensures that customers do not build up rent arrears and officers attempt to ensure that a person's rental obligations are met in full.

The DEASP Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme offers a safety net within the overall social welfare system by providing assistance to those whose means are insufficient to meet their own needs and those of their dependents.  The main purpose of the scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance to those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes.  There are several payments within the scheme including once-off exceptional needs payments (ENPs) which can cover rent arrears.

Where a person has a change of circumstances, such as a loss of income, they should notify the relevant local authority in the case of a HAP claim, or the DEASP for Rent Supplement to assess the level of any payment that can be made.