Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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322. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if a landlord in receipt of HAP from a local authority in respect of a tenant, must inform that local authority when there is a change to the rent or to any other associated costs. [52790/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of social housing support available for people who have a long-term housing need. Any household assessed as eligible for social housing is immediately eligible for HAP.

Under HAP, a tenant sources 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.

The tenancy agreement is between the tenant and the landlord and is governed by the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 – 2025 (RTA). HAP supported tenancies are afforded the same protections as all private rented tenancies. A landlord must comply with the relevant legislation when setting and reviewing rents. Further information is available on the RTB website at www.rtb.ie.

Where a tenant has a change of circumstances, including a rent increase, they may notify the relevant local authority. The local authority can reassess those tenants and adjust their differential rent accordingly. In addition, each local authority has statutory discretion to agree to a HAP payment up to 35% above the prescribed maximum rent limit or up to 50% in the case of homeless households in the Dublin region. 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.

The day-to-day operation of the HAP scheme is a matter for the relevant local authority.