Responding to Concerns about new Housing Assistance Payment (HAP)

Minister for Housing sets record straight on how payment to replace Rent Supplement will work.

Speaking on a Dáil debate on housing in May

There has been a lot of inaccurate commentary and scaremongering about the new Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

In particular, people are saying that anyone who accepts the new HAP payment will not be able to transfer to a Dublin City Council house.

I welcome the Minister for Housing Jan O'Sullivan's statement yesterday that this is not the case. 

The Minister said yesterday: "Opposition claims that recipients of HAP will be excluded from moving to other forms of social housing – such as traditional local authority housing or units provided by Approved Housing Bodies – are misleading and grossly inaccurate.

“The new system will specifically provide a route for HAP tenants to apply for other social housing options. HAP tenants will exercise this option through inclusion on a transfer list that allows tenants avail of a range of housing options. In allocation schemes adopted when HAP is in place, local authorities will make provision to allocate available units to people on the transfer list."

HAP is the most comprehensive reform of social housing support for years. Anyone currently receiving rent supplement or a landlord receiving it will know the current system is not fit for purpose and reform is needed.

What will the Housing Assistance Payment do differently?

• It will ensure that all long-term housing support is accessed through each local authority, rather than the current fractured system that involves the Department of Social Protection making payments, with people joining waiting lists to access the local authority system;
• It will ensure that people can take up employment and still retain housing support;
• It will improve standards of accommodation for tenants, with a more coherent system of inspection under the control of the local authority;
• It will remove the possibility of tenant arrears for landlords and encourage more landlords to accept housing assistance tenants.

I welcome the debate on the best way to support people receiving social housing support. It must be done based on facts and not used to scare a vulnerable group of people who are already worried about finding a long-term place to live.

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