John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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847.To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason that when a HAP tenant who has been served notice-to-quit, stops paying their share of the rent and this precipitates the termination of any HAP payment to the landlord, who is now in the position of being not in receipt of any rent at all on a property in which the tenant is continuing to live rent-free; if he intends to remedy this anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[35129/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Tenants in the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme are required to sign a rent contribution agreement to pay a weekly rental contribution to the relevant local authority, in line with the local authority’s differential rent scheme. As set out in the rent contribution agreement, this weekly rental contribution must be paid by them so that they remain eligible for the HAP scheme.

From 1 May 2023, when a HAP tenant defaults on their differential rent payment to the local authority they will be offered the option of a payment plan to assist them in maintaining their tenancy and allow the HAP payment to the landlord to continue. If the tenant defaults on payment of differential rent or the payment plan, under the Landlord Payment Guarantee, the HAP payment to the landlord will be guaranteed for a 12 month period, or payment will end earlier if the tenancy ends. The Landlord Guarantee is applicable to tenancies reaching suspension stage of the debt management process from 1 May 2023.

If the tenant has not rectified their situation and exited the debt management process within three months of the HAP payment to the landlord being suspended, the Landlord Guarantee can be activated.

The HAP SSC will contact the landlord in month three of suspension to obtain confirmation that the tenant remains in the property. Once the confirmation is received the landlord will then be paid monthly for up to nine months. The initial arrears of three months will be paid retrospectively at the end of the 12 month period or earlier if the tenancy ends.