Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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280. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the review of HAP rates promised under the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42779/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Increased rent limits for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and the Rent Supplement Scheme were introduced in 2016. These limits were agreed in conjunction with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP).  In reviewing the rent limits, my Department worked closely with DEASP and monitored data gathered from the Residential Tenancies Board and the HAP Shared Services Centre.  The HAP rent limits were increased significantly, by up to 60% in some cases.

Maximum rent limits for the HAP scheme are set out for each housing authority area in the Housing Assistance Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2017.  The current maximum HAP rent limits are available on the Irish Statute Book website at the following link:

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2017/si/56/made/en/print?q=housing&years=2017. 

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. It should be noted that it is a matter for the local authority to determine whether the application of the flexibility is warranted on a case by case basis and also the level of additional discretion applied in each case. 

In considering this issue, I am conscious that increasing the current HAP rent limits 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 committed to the Programme for Government commitment to ensure that Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) levels are adequate to support vulnerable households, while we increase the supply of social housing. My Department closely monitors the level of discretion being used by local authorities, taking into account other sources of data, including Residential Tenancies Board rent data published on a quarterly basis. It is considered that the current maximum rent limits, together with the additional flexibility available to local authorities, are adequate to support the effective operation of the HAP scheme.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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281. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the system in place to ensure that HAP tenants, including those already in receipt of the full discretionary allowance, who receive notice of a rent increase will have that increase covered as part of their HAP payment and will not be forced to carry this additional cost on top of their differential rent payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42780/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Under the HAP scheme, tenants source their own accommodation in the private rented market. 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 to secure appropriate accommodation for a household that requires it, or up to 50% in the case of homeless households in the Dublin region.  It is a matter for the local authority to determine, on a case by case basis, whether, and to what extent, the application of the flexibility is warranted.

While there is no legislative provision precluding HAP supported households contributing towards the monthly rent required by the landlord, local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that tenancies are sustainable and that households in HAP are in a position to meet the rental costs involved.

All households in receipt of HAP pay a differential rent based on the rent scheme set by the relevant local authority. The right of local authorities to set and collect rents on their dwellings is set out in section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. The making or amending of such schemes is an executive function and is subject to broad principles laid down by my Department including that; the rent payable should be related to income and a smaller proportion of income should be required from low income households; and that provision should be included for the acceptance of a lower rent than that required under the terms of the scheme in exceptional cases where payment of the normal rent would give rise to hardship.

Local discretion and flexibility are inherent in the devolved function of administering rent schemes.  Decisions regarding the increase or decrease in the rent charged to tenants of local authorities are matters for individual local authorities in accordance with it's differential rent scheme.