Fine Gael TD for Kildare South Martin Heydon has today (Friday) welcomed the fact that the new Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) to be administered by Local Authorities will be paid direct to landlords from the Local Authorities. He was speaking after the Housing Miscellaneous Bill 2014 made it’s way through the Dail this week.
“I have called many times for rent supplement to be paid directly to Landlords. It was farcical that a payment due to landlords was made to tenants directly in the first place. While the majority of tenants passed the rent payment on to their landlords, there were always cases where this didn’t happen and this gave the system a bad name.
“I am aware that many landlords are now reluctant to take on rent supplement tenants and I firmly believe the fear of not receiving the rent supplement payment from the tenant is a major factor in that. When the new Housing Assistance Payment comes into force landlords will have the security of knowing that their payment will come from the local authority on a regular basis. I am hopeful that this will help to increase the supply of rental accommodation that is available and so improve the current situation for both tenants and landlords.