“The recent increase in rent ceilings for people in receipt of rent supplement is welcome, but the new limits are still way below the market rents being demanded in Laois.
Tenants in receipt of Rent Supplement who are paying rent above the new limits are being requested by the Department of Social Protection to get their landlords to reduce the rent or seek alternative accommodation below the new ceilings. They know that landlords won’t drop the rents but persist in pressurising tenants to re-negotiate their rents.
I’m dealing with one family whose rent supplement has been stopped entirely because they are paying rent of €750 per month which is above their new limit of €610. They were instructed to request the landlord to reduce the rent to €610 or find alternative accommodation below the limit. The landlord refused to reduce the rent and this family are now at risk of homelessness.
Another person is only being given Rent Supplement up to the old limit as their rent is above the new limit.
In a reply to my Dáil Question on this, Minister Leo Varadkar stated that “the Department continues to implement a flexible case-by-case approach where rents may exceed the maximum limits.”
The above cases demonstrate that this approach is not flexible and is not adhered to.
In conclusion Deputy Stanley said “ Sinn Féin have been demanding effective rent controls for the past five years. The evidence on the ground shows that simply increasing rent limits without adequate rent controls results in many landlords taking advantage of the increased payment. The Government needs to act now in the interest of the tenant and the tax payer.”
