Tag Archives: Housing Assistance Payment

A MOTHER of four, three of whom are aged 13 or younger, has told The Clare Champion that the family has lived at eight different addresses around Clare since moving out of long-term rented accommodation in Connolly last September. In recent weeks, Deirdre McGrath and her children have lived in Housing Assistance Payment (HAP)-funded rented accommodation in Kilfenora but must move out this week. Up to securing that accommodation, the mother and her three younger children lived in friends’ houses across the county. “We took on a lease in Kilfenora but within a month, we got a notice of termination. The landlord’s circumstances have changed and he wishes to move back in,” Deirdre McGrath explained. She said it is very difficult to find accommodation where the landlord will accept HAP. “The consequences of HAP is landlords have to invest money into the dwelling to bring it up to standard. The guidelines can be quite tight,” she said. HAP is a …

There is good news for people seeking to rent property, who are in receipt of a broad range of State payments. The Government has decided to prohibit discrimination in relation to a tenant or  prospective tenant on the basis that the person is or is not in receipt of a housing assistance payment, rent supplement, or that the person’s income in whole or in part is or is not provided by the State as a social welfare payment. Speaking following the announcement, Minister of State, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, said, “It is a common practice for advertisements in relation to rental accommodation to say that rent supplement is not accepted. This practice has a harmful effect on persons seeking to rent accommodation and the Government has therefore decided to prohibit such discrimination. The necessary amendments to equality legislation will be made in the context of a Private Members’ Bill, the Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, which is currently before the …

The Housing Action Group is calling on Minister Jan O’Sullivan to suspend the Housing Bill until “confusion and unwanted stress” surrounding the Housing Assistance Payment ( HAP) scheme is removed. The group is to stage another protest outside the Dáil at 5.30pm this Tuesday when the Bill resumes for debate and final voting. Gwen Connell, spokesperson for the group, said the provisions in the Bill were “well hidden” from the public until highlighted by the group only last Tuesday. Since then, the HAG had been inundated by people currently on council waiting lists worried about losing their place on the list. “The reckless nature of this Bill now brings fear of homelessness to families who were not directly affected in the past. It leaves families at the mercy of landlords whether on rent allowance, RAS or private renting. “This does not fix the problem of ‘rent allowance not accepted’ as the HAP will be the new rent supplement. What happens when …