More than 3,000 HAP households in rent arrears since establishment of scheme

More than 3,000 households availing of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) have fallen into rent arrears since the scheme was established in 2014, figures from the HAP Shared Services Centre (SSC) show.

Out of 106,701 HAP tenancies set up between the start of the scheme and September 2022, 804 landlords have had their HAP payments suspended due to a lack of rent collection from tenants. A further 2,216 tenancies have ended due to tenants failing to pay their rent contribution.

Reasons for the failure to collect rent are not recorded by local councils.

Under the HAP scheme, a form of social housing support provided by local authorities, eligible households pay a portion of the total rent on a privately owned property to their local council. This contribution is calculated in the same manner as rent paid by tenants in local authority-owned properties.

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Private landlords then receive the full rent payment from the council in question. According to HAP, “if the tenant does not pay this rent contribution, HAP payments to their landlord will be suspended and eventually stopped. The tenant is then responsible for paying the full rent themselves.”

In the final quarter of 2022, Dublin City Council recorded 86 households where landlords had their local authority payments suspended due to tenant rent arrears. Elsewhere, Fingal County Council recorded 22 new cases of suspended landlord payments during the same period, with 37 in Limerick City and County Council.

Fifteen suspensions were recorded in Clare County Council throughout 2022, while South Dublin County Council had 40 total suspensions during the year.

Cork County Council had 33 HAP tenancy cessations for 2022 due to non-collection of rent from tenants. This was an increase on 17 in 2021.

The HAP SCC, run by Limerick City and County Council, handles the transfer of funds on behalf of all local authorities in the State.

As part of the HAP debt process, four separate letters are sent to tenants with three weeks or more of total unpaid rent. The third letter indicates suspension of payment to the landlord, while letter four signals an end to the tenancy.

At the end of September last year, 2,339 active HAP tenancies – or 3.93 per cent – were in the debt process.

“The approach taken by the HAP SSC has been very effective with minimal levels of rent arrears arising for tenants,” said a Department of Housing spokesman. “At Q3 2022, the scheme had a 99 per cent differential rent collection rate. Therefore, only a very small number of tenants have fallen into difficulty with their differential rent.

“The 99 per cent tenant differential rent collection rate is not directly comparable to the number of tenants in arrears as it measures the collection rate during 2022 for differential rent.

“The HAP SSC follows a clear communication policy if rental arrears issues arise. This policy includes regular and early written communication with tenants, landlords and the relevant local authority.”

In 2020, rent collection from HAP recipients fell to 92 per cent during the third quarter of the year. In March 2020, the debt management process was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic and partially reintroduced in October.

According to a Department of Housing spokesman, “this meant non-payment of differential rent by a tenant during that time did not affect payments to HAP landlords. Tenants were, however, expected to continue to pay their rent with supports available for those financially impacted by Covid.”

The debt management process, including suspension of payments to landlords and cessation of tenancies, was reintroduced in September 2021. Tenants who fell into arrears during the pandemic were given additional time to clear these, as well as access to payment plans that were not usually offered to tenants in the debt process.

As part of this winter’s eviction ban, which the Government announced on Tuesday would be lifted at the end of this month, an extension to the debt management process was brought in to prevent exits from the HAP scheme due to the non-payment of rent.

[ Inside the Cabinet: Why Ministers felt dropping eviction ban was only option ]

Up to 600 properties are available to rent in Dublin, according to a range of housing sites. On daft.ie, 209 houses are listed with a further 325 apartments advertised in the wider Dublin area.

In Lucan and Bluebell, three-bed apartments are listed for €3,000 per month. A house with the same number of beds in Killester is advertised at €3,750.

For one-bed apartments, the lower end of the price scale includes another property in Lucan for €1,875. At the upper end of the scale for one-bed apartments, a rental in Dublin 1 is going for €2,400. A studio apartment in Dún Laoghaire is available for €1,880.

In Galway, prices are considerably lower for one beds with one property for €1,250 in Salthill, according to myhome.ie. Lower prices are available for shared rooms, with double beds in such properties dropping below €1,000 a month.

Other shared rooms are available in Meath, where one bed in a four-bed room costs €600 in Meath on myhome.ie. A similar arrangement in Bray is available for €750 per month.

In Cork, 20 apartments are listed on daft.ie, with one-bed apartments ranging from €1,000 to €1,750. Two-bed apartments in Bantry and Bandon are available for €1,200 and €1,600 respectively. A three-bed house in Bantry can be found for €1,800, one of 47 available in the county on Daft.

Property.ie lists a five-bed house in Castletroy, Co Limerick, at €3,500 a month, in one of the few listings for a property of that size. Another house with five bedrooms can be found in Waterford for €2,500.