Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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634. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied); if he will raise the matter with decision-making officials in Dublin City Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14209/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The administration of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is a matter for the relevant local authority and HAP application processing times may vary across local authorities.

Once a HAP application has been received and confirmed as valid by the relevant local authority, it is entered on the system by the local authority and then submitted for processing and payment by the HAP Shared Service Centre (HAP SSC). Payments are made to landlords on the last Wednesday of each month.

If there are delays at the processing stage within a local authority, payment to the landlord will be backdated to the date on which a complete and valid application form was received by the local authority. The landlord is therefore not penalised for any delay.

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 latest data available for HAP processing times covers the period up to end Q3 2023 and shows that the average processing time across all local authorities is 37 days.

My Department and local authorities are aware of the importance of minimising HAP processing times and the critical need to keep this under review at a local level in order to ensure times are minimised to the greatest extent possible.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended.

Regulation 12 of the 2011 Regulations prescribes the timescales for the processing of applications by local authorities and provides that, subject to conditions, a local authority shall deal with an application within a period of 12 weeks. Local authorities will prioritise housing needs assessments for those in greatest need and seek to process their applications well within the prescribed maximum timeframes.

In the event that the assessment cannot be completed within the mandated time, the local authority must notify the applicant in writing of this fact, specifying the reasons why the assessment could not be completed in good time.

If the local authority requires additional information from the applicant, it should request that information as early into the assessment process as possible. In accordance with Regulation 11(1), the applicant has 4 weeks from the time of the request to provide the requested information/documentation to the local authority.

Should the applicant fail to do so, then the application should be returned to the applicant with a covering letter stating that an assessment could not be carried out by the local authority.

Where it is not possible for the applicant to provide any information/documentation requested by the local authority within the 4 week period (e.g. where documentation is being sought from a third party that has been delayed), a local authority may, if it feels it appropriate, grant an extension to the applicant to provide the requested information/documentation. Local authorities then have 6 weeks after receipt of additional information requested to process the application. In any event, the processing of a valid application by a local authority shall not exceed 14 weeks after the initial 12 weeks from the date of application has expired.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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636. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will detail the sources of, and definition of, reckonable income for the purposes of local authorities' assessment of applications under the tenant incremental purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14283/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme provides for the purchase by eligible tenants of local authority houses which are available for sale under the scheme. All applications for the Scheme must satisfy the requirements outlined in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 and the Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015.

Changes to the scheme took effect from 29 January 2024 with the introduction of the Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 which came into effect from 29 January 2024. These Regulations and subsequent Ministerial Directions to local authorities, include the criteria relating to minimum primary reckonable income. Specifically, to be eligible, applicants must meet certain criteria, including minimum primary reckonable income of €11,000.

In determining a tenant’s minimum annual reckonable income, local authorities can include income from employment, self-employment, private pensions, and the contributory and non-contributory State pensions. In addition, from the above date, the Widow's, Widower's, Surviving Civil Partner's Pension (Contributory and Non-Contributory), Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension, and Disability Allowance, are considered to be primary reckonable income for the purposes of determining eligibility for the Scheme.

Furthermore, certain social protection payments can also be considered reckonable, where the social protection payment is secondary to income from employment, pension, or social protection payments referred to above.

The minimum annual reckonable income requirement has a dual purpose. It ensures the scheme is sustainable and the tenant purchasing the house has the financial means to maintain and insure the property for the duration of the charged period. While eligibility for the scheme is determined by the local authorities on examination of an application, it should be noted that my Department has issued detailed written guidance to all local authorities regarding the operation of the scheme.