Housing supports in need of broader reform, says opposition

Social Democrats spokesman on housing Rory Hearne said there needs to be broader reform of housing supports, citing both the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme as being 'problematic'. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins

Government housing supports require broader reform, the opposition has said, as a recently published report calls for hikes to Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) payment rates.

A report from the Department of Housing on reforming the RAS recommended that payment rates be increased beyond the 92% market rate limit in place currently.

“In our consultation process there was broad consensus that the level of rent payable to private landlords is a major driver in landlords leaving the RAS,” the report reads.

The rental accommodation scheme sees landlords draw up individual contracts with councils, covering tenants with a long-term housing need. The council directly pays the landlord, with options for the tenant to pay a contribution to the local authority.

Social Democrats spokesman on housing Rory Hearne said there needs to be broader reform of housing supports, citing both the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme as being “problematic”.

“The policy is just caught in this cycle, where schemes [like HAP and RAS] are just chasing rents,” Mr Hearne said.

He said the approach of RAS is not a good method for delivering social housing and that the new government should focus instead on direct delivery and building.

In reality, these schemes are not solutions to the housing crisis.

However, he admitted that payment levels should be looked at, given that there is take-up of the schemes across the country.

The report makes a number of other recommendations, including the introduction of front-loaded payments to landlords to entice more into the system.

It also calls for incentives to be introduced to give landlords more reason to improve properties being used by rental accommodation scheme tenants. Increasing the length of time for rental accommodation scheme contracts is also called for, from the typical four to six years.

Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Harris has confirmed the government will revise its existing Housing for All plan in the months ahead.

Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Harris said there is a requirement to pull “everybody together and get all the levers that are necessary to address what is still a housing emergency in Ireland”.

Mr Harris said that a new housing plan would form part of those actions.