Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Housing Assistance Payment (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. 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.

Housing for All set out a commitment that My Department would undertake an analytical exercise to examine whether an increase in the level of discretion available to local authorities under HAP was required. The Housing Agency carried out this analytical exercise, on behalf of my Department, to better understand what level of discretion should be made available to local authorities under HAP to maintain adequate levels of support.

Following this analysis, since 11 July 2022, each local authority has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment up to 35% above the prescribed maximum rent limit and for new tenancies to extend the couple’s rate to single persons households.

Discretion can be increased up to 50% above the prescribed maximum rent limits for Homeless HAP tenancies in Dublin. This additional discretion was made available in 2018 recognising the difficulty this cohort of households faced in sourcing and securing properties in a highly competitive rental market.

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

My Department continues to keep the operation of the HAP scheme under review and 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.