One landlord has 241 properties linked to rent benefit scheme
Some private landlords and firms are making millions of euro from the taxpayer every year through the housing assistance payment scheme — including one landlord who has 241 properties linked to the system.
The Department of Housing confirmed the figures just days after it emerged that the amount of money taxpayers are giving private landlords under the scheme has soared from just €390,000 in 2014 to €276m last year.
In a letter to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee published yesterday, the Department of Housing’s secretary general, John McCarthy, said the number of landlords using the HAP scheme has rocketed since the official end of the recession.
Outlining the latest figures from September last year, Mr McCarthy said while fewer than 500 properties were on the HAP scheme in 2014, the number now stands at 40,835, including:
One landlord with 241 HAP properties;
300 landlords with more than 10;
308 landlords with between six and 10;
3,402 landlords with between two and five;
4,010 landlords with more than one;
And 20,456 landlords with one.
The HAP scheme involves a local authority making monthly payments to a landlord to help tenants at risk of homelessness in return for a small tenant contribution.
Mr McCarthy defended the surge in properties on the HAP scheme by saying the properties are needed.
However, the significant number of landlords who have dozens and even hundreds of HAP properties is likely to spark fresh questions over whether the system is ensuring existing resources are being appropriately used.
This is, in part, because of the fact that, while the department was unable to provide a breakdown of which landlords listed are private individuals and which are property companies, it is accepted that a large number of property firms are signing up to the service in return for significant payments from the State.
The Department of Housing last night said while the average HAP payment is €786 a month, it varies depending on the local authority involved, with the average monthly rate at €442 in Cavan and €1,339 in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown in Dublin.
meaning the largest HAP landlords are making millions of euro from the system every year.The details emerged after reports earlier this week found that the amount of taxpayers’ money being spent on the HAP scheme has soared from €390,000 in 2014 to €276.6m last year.
The figures, obtained by Fianna Fáil’s housing spokesman, Darragh O’Brien, follow recent Government plans to ramp up HAP spending to €422m this year, a situation Mr O’Brien claims “is a short-term approach that will ultimately cost the State billions of euro”.
Meanwhile, the Department of Housing has confirmed to the PAC that it is currently unable to provide a complete national breakdown of which HAP properties are undergoing State inspections to ensure they are meeting minimum living standards.
Responding to a PAC question on the issue, Mr McCarthy said while all 31 local authorities are inspecting properties, a national inspection map is unavailable as authorities are using different recording systems.
“It is important to clarify that the issue arising is not that HAP inspections being undertaken are not being recorded, but that the inspection details were being recorded on a number of different systems rather than on one single database.”
