The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of social housing support for people who have a long-term housing need. In order for a household to qualify for HAP, they must first be assessed as eligible for social housing support by their local authority.
Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended.
The 2011 Regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, in different bands according to the area concerned, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy.
Under the Household Means Policy, net income for social housing assessment is defined as gross household income less income tax, www.kildarestreet.com/glossary Universal Social Charge and Additional Superannuation Contribution. The Policy provides for a range of income disregards, and local authorities also have discretion to decide to disregard income that is temporary, short-term or once-off in nature
Domiciliary Care Allowance is not assessable as income under the Household Means Policy, and in all cases, shall be disregarded for the purposes of assessing income.
More detail on what income is assessable and the full list of disregards is available on my Department's website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/fb1f2-social-housing-support-household-means-policy/
Tenants in the 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.
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 the sources of income, such as Domiciliary Care Allowance, included and disregarded for rent assessment purposes are matters solely for individual local authorities. I have no role in this regard.
