Falling rents ‘not an excuse’ to cut supplements

FALLING rents should not be used as an excuse to reduce rent supplement payments, housing charity Threshold has warned.

Threshold’s director, Bob Jordan, branded such a move a “rash cost-saving measure.”

He was responding yesterday to views expressed this week by a number of politicians — including Social and Family Affairs Minister Mary Hanafin — that the payment should be reviewed in light of falling rents.

Any savings made should be redirected to support those who still find it difficult to meet rent costs in urban areas, he said.

A Threshold survey of bedsit units in Dublin showed only 23% of rents fell at, or below, the rent supplement cap of €130 per week, with the majority rented out to tenants at €150 per week. Rent levels in some parts of the city were as high as €169.

Mr Jordan said there is not enough low-cost rental accommodation in urban areas to service current needs and, with increased unemployment, the problem is set to grow.

Greater discretion should be given to community welfare officers so they can offer greater support to people on the margins of the rental market, he said.

“Before rushing to cut back on this, we would strongly urge the minister to undertake a comprehensive analysis of rent costs across all accommodation types, with particular emphasis on the accommodation available to those on low incomes.

“Directing cuts at some of the most vulnerable groups will not assist in our economic recovery, but it will reinforce poverty and disadvantage.”

Mr Jordan said reasonably priced housing is difficult to find, particularly in Dublin city centre and surrounding districts.

“In our experience, one in every five bedsit tenants are forced to pay their landlord a weekly ‘top-up’ from their welfare payment. Any reduction in their rent supplement would require them to pay an even bigger top-up, and could push them out onto the streets.”