Housing charity call to reform ‘flawed’ rent supplement
National housing charity Threshold said the legislation, which came into force at the beginning of the year, “is not a cure-all” for the current difficulties faced by tenants. It said the State needs to accept responsibility for the reality of tenant’s situations by addressing soaring market rents, higher than those seen during boom times, and inadequate rent-supplement limits.
It was reported earlier this week that property websites are still featuring adverts which discriminate against tenants in receipt of rent allowance — despite this being outlawed under the Equality Act 2015.
However, chairperson of Threshold, Senator Aideen Hayden said the Government needs to do more to protect vulnerable tenants.
“While the new equality legislation in relation to those in receipt of housing support and assistance is welcomed, it is simply not good enough. The State can’t pat itself on the back and claim it has addressed the issue through legislation when the reality on the ground is quite different.”
“Market rents are surpassing the maximum rent supplement limits, making it almost impossible for tenants to secure adequate accommodation and remain in their homes, resulting in increasing numbers of individuals and families becoming homeless,” she said.
Ms Hayden called on the Government to reform the “seriously flawed” rent- supplement scheme which it said was contributing to rising levels of homelessness. “In Threshold’s experience, landlords are reluctant to engage with the rent supplement scheme for a wide variety of reasons, including the inadequacy of rent supplement limits, payment in arrears and bureaucratic delays.
“The rent-supplement scheme is seriously flawed: Rent supplement tenants are not pre-approved, and payments are made in arrears not in advance. This means landlords can be left waiting for their rent payment,” she said. Threshold said the new Government must reform how the scheme operates and provide a lasting solution for rent-supplement tenants, ensuring landlords feel secure in accepting rent supplement.
It said this can be done by increasing rent supplement limits to bring them in line with market rents, introducing a pre-approval mechanism for rent supplement claimants similar to mortgage pre-approval and ensuring payments are made directly to landlords in advance. The Threshold chairperson said the charity received calls daily from tenants who face discrimination because they rely on rent supplement.
“However, there is no point pretending that landlords will take less than market rent because someone is on rent supplement,” she said. “The new Government must increase rent-supplement limits to bring them into line with market rents and remove the administrative flaws and payment delays inherent in the scheme.”
