Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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180. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has been made aware of an approved housing body that has allegedly been overcharging its tenants (details supplied); if he will instruct the body to refund all tenants who were overcharged; and will an investigation be conducted into this matter and whether any other housing bodies are overcharging tenants. [38318/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Generally social housing rents are linked a tenant’s income. My Department provides a range of funding streams, through local authorities, to assist Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) with the delivery of social housing, examples of which include the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) with a Payment and Availability Agreement, or the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS). The Capital Loan Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) was closed to new applications in 2011.

The terms and conditions, including rent setting, of these funding schemes are set out in my Department's Memorandum on Capital Funding Schemes for the Provision of Rental Accommodation by Approved Housing Bodies (Voluntary and Co - Operative Rental Housing): VHU: 2/02 of May 2002 and related circulars, and the relevant mortgage, loan agreements and Payment and Availability Agreements in force between the relevant local authority and AHB. As such, the rent may vary from a local authority differential rent. AHB tenant’s should contact their AHB landlord directly if there are any queries in relation to how their rent is calculated.

Local authorities set and collect rents on their dwellings in accordance with section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. The making or amending of such rent schemes is generally a matter for local authorities within broad principles set out by my Department, including that rent levels should be based on income and reflect tenants’ ability to pay.

Local discretion and flexibility are inherent in the devolved administration of rent schemes and different approaches are taken to rent setting across local authorities. Accordingly, decisions regarding how the rent payable is calculated, including arrangements for the provision of a reduced rate for pensioners, are matters for individual local authorities in line with the Differential Rent Scheme that it has in place.

The Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) was formally established on 1 February 2021. AHBRA is an independent body tasked with providing the regulation of Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). There are four standards which AHBs are expected to adhere to including the Tenancy Management Standard,

The Tenancy Management Standard establishes a set of outcomes that AHBs are required to achieve in their management of tenancies and in their communication with tenants. It relates to ensuring that AHBs have effective policies and procedures for the delivery of tenant services. It outlines the key outcomes that AHBs are required to achieve relating to their statutory, legal and compliance obligations, allocations, nominations, communication with tenants and tenant satisfaction.

It is open to any individual to raise a concern about an AHB with AHBRA concerns@ahbregulator.ie. Further information is available on the AHBRA website

The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended) regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in the private rented sector and the AHB sector and sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants in this regard. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants and it also provides third party dispute resolution services. It is open to AHB tenants to contact the RTB and avail of its dispute resolution service. Further information may be obtained from the RTB’s website, www.rtb.ie.

As both AHBRA and the RTB are independent statutory Bodies, I, as Minister am not in a position to comment on individual cases and concerns that tenants may have should be raised with the relevant Body.