Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 July 2025
21. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will ensure that the higher rates of homeless HAP are made available to people currently in rental accommodation so that they do not have to become homeless first to access the higher rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35891/25]
View answerA key principle of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is that eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rental 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.
Since 11 July 2022, 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. Additional flexibility was also given, from this date, for local authorities to apply a couple HAP rate to single person households for new tenancies. Recognising that newer tenancies are at a higher cost than those tenancies already in place, the measure only applied to new tenancies. 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.
Additional supports are available under HAP for homeless households or households at risk of homelessness nationwide including financial supports and access to the Place Finder service. To qualify for these specific additional supports available to homeless households, a household must have been determined by the relevant local authority to be homeless within the meaning of section 2 of the Housing Act 1988.
Local authorities oversee a range of homeless prevention and tenancy sustainment measures, and are prioritising tenancy support services, prevention, and the use of the Place finder service for HAP tenancies.
