Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Limerick City and County Council operates the HAP Shared Services Centre (HAPSSC) on behalf of all 31 local authorities across the country as well as the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive.

Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he or she is responsible. Information on current staffing levels of the HAPSSC is held by Limerick City and County Council.

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 Q4 2023 and shows that the average processing time across local authorities is 37 days.

Since 1 March 2024, tenants and landlords can apply for HAP via an online portal www.hap.ie/apply/ . It is expected that the introduction of this online application form will provide efficiencies for tenants, landlords and local authorities.

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.

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

Each local authority has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment above the prescribed maximum rent limit in order to secure appropriate accommodation for a household that requires it. In July 2022, this discretion level was increased from 20% to 35% and for new tenancies to extend the couple’s rate to single persons households in each local authority area. Up to 50% discretion can be provided 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.

At end Q3 2023 the total number of households being supported by HAP in Kildare County Council was 1,847 and 65% of the households being supported by HAP in Kildare County Council were benefiting from the additional flexibility. In those cases, the average rate of discretionary payment being used was almost 19% above the rent limits.

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.