Rent allowance paid directly to landlords in eight pilot areas

TENANTS claiming rent allowance in eight pilot areas around the country will no longer get the money directly from this week because their local authority is making the payment to the landlords.

The new scheme kicks into place in Dublin, Galway and Limerick cities and in South Dublin, Donegal, Westmeath and Offaly county councils as well as Drogheda Town Council this week.

The system is being brought in because under a new regulation local authorities now have responsibility for housing people on rent allowance for more than 18 months.

“This system will be extended nationwide in time and local authorities will pay the private landlord the rent directly until that person comes off the housing waiting list,” a Department of the Environment spokesperson said.

But Fine Gael Environment spokesperson Fergus O’Dowd said he was concerned that the rights of tenants would not be protected in this new scheme.

“Tenants may be slow to make complaints against landlords because the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) set up to adjudicate such disputes may not get involved now because the tenants are not paying the rent directly themselves,” he said.

But the PRTB chairman Tom Dunne insisted yesterday this was not the case and his board would continue to adjudicate on any dispute that arises between tenants and landlords under the new system.

“A landlord does not even need to be registered with us in order for us to adjudicate on a complaint made by a tenant,” Mr Dunne added.

The PRTB was set up last year to regulate the private rental sector and get landlords to register officially for the first time. Mr Dunne said they are pleased with the response so far from landlords and more than 80,000 have applied for registration.

The board is currently adjudicating on 300 formal complaints made against landlords and tenants and it has the power to seek a court order against either party if it fails to implement its decision.