Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Landlord Information Booklet Your questions answered.

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1 HAP Landord Information Booket Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Landord Information Booket Your questions answered

2 HAP Landord Information Booket Tabe of Contents About this booket 1 What is Housing Assistance Payment (HAP)? 2 What are the benefits of HAP for me? 3 How does HAP work? 4 What are the terms and conditions of HAP? 5 Are there imits on HAP payments? 6 Who pays the renta deposit? 7 Who is the andord me or the oca authority? 8 Can HAP payments be suspended or stopped? 9 How does the changeover from Rent Suppement to HAP payments work? 10 Where can I find more information? About this booket This booket aims to answer questions that you, as a andord (or an agent acting on behaf of a andord), might have about the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme.

3 1 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) HAP Booket Landord Information Booket Your questions answered What is Housing Assistance Payment (HAP)? Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of socia housing support provided by a oca authorities. HAP repaces Rent Suppement for those with a ong-term housing need who quaify for socia housing support. Under HAP, oca authorities provide housing assistance for househods with a ong-term housing need, incuding many ong-term Rent Suppement recipients. HAP provides a more integrated system of housing supports and aows househods that find fu-time work to remain in the scheme. Under HAP, oca authorities wi make payments on behaf of tenants directy to andords for rent. HAP recipients wi be responsibe for finding their own accommodation in the private rented sector. 2 What are the benefits of HAP for me? Direct payment you wi be paid eectronicay on the ast Wednesday of each month. This payment covers the occupation of the property by the HAP tenant for that caendar month. The payment is subject to terms and conditions incuding rent imits and that the HAP tenant pays a rent contribution to the oca authority. Consistency of payment the HAP payment to you wi not change if your tenant s income changes. Low administration you don t need to coect rent or make requests for payment from your HAP tenant. Easy banking a payments are made eectronicay.

4 HAP Landord Information Booket Tax Reief - Since 1 January 2016, andords who rent to tenants in receipt of socia housing supports such as HAP may avai of increased tax reief. This aows property owners to caim 100% on their mortgage interest, as an expense against renta income. To quaify for this tax reief, you must undertake to make the accommodation avaiabe to quaifying tenants for at east three years, and the undertaking must be registered with the Residentia Tenancies Board (RTB). 3 How wi HAP work? Loca authorities make HAP payments for househods with a ong-term housing need directy to you. The foowing points outine how this works. 1) An appicant who is eigibe for HAP finds a suitabe property in the private renta sector. As part of their appication process, you, the andord of the property, must send certain information to the oca authority. You can return Part B of the HAP appication form with the reevant information directy to the oca authority. This information wi incude: The tota amount of the monthy rent Proof of ownership/entitement to act as andord of the property with the andords name and property address in one of the foowing forms as foows: a) Tite deed or simiar ega instrument proving ownership of the property, b) evidence of current registration with the Residentia Tenancies Board (RTB), c) evidence of current paid buidings insurance poicy/schedue, d) evidence of payment of Loca Property Tax (LPT), or e) mortgage statement dated within the ast 12 months.

5 HAP Landord Information Booket Header from a bank statement, with the andord/agent name and address to prove that the named person/company nominated to receive HAP payments is the account hoder for the bank detais provided. An undertaking regarding the property s compiance with standards for renta accommodation An undertaking regarding your tax compiance Landord s PPSN or Tax Reference Number The undertakings referred to above are set out in Section B of the HAP appication form and in Part 4. What are the terms and conditions of HAP? beow. 2) When the appication is approved, the oca authority wi start making HAP payments on the ast Wednesday of each month directy into your bank account subject to the scheme s conditions. You shoud note that the eariest date from which a oca authority wi make HAP payments to you is the date they receive a compete and vaid HAP appication form from the appicant and you as andord. If an appicant moves into a property before this date, they wi be iabe for any rent due. You are advised to return a competed Section B of the HAP appication form to the oca authority as soon as possibe after agreeing a tenancy. 3) Your tenant s oca authority decides what eve of differentia rent they wi be charged and what eve of HAP payment wi be made to you as andord on their behaf. 4) A oca authorities use the services of the HAP Shared Services Centre, which is based in Limerick, to make HAP renta payments to andords. The HAP Shared Services Centre, aso coects a differentia rents from HAP tenants. For this reason, HAP payments wi be made to your account in the name of HAP Shared Services Centre or Limerick City and County Counci.

6 HAP Landord Information Booket 5) The HAP Shared Services Centre wi make HAP payments eectronicay to your account, on behaf of your tenant, on the ast Wednesday of each month. This covers the period of occupation of the property by the HAP tenant for that caendar month. 6) Simiar to the Rent Suppement scheme, there are imits regarding the maximum payment for different househod types in different areas. 7) As with other tenancies, the Residentia Tenancies Act 2004 (RTA) (as amended) governs the reationship between you and your tenant. This means that you have to register the tenancy with the Residentia Tenancies Board (RTB). Further information is avaiabe on the RTB website Loca authorities wi send ists to the RTB of a andords receiving HAP payments. This ets the RTB check that a tenancies where HAP is being paid have been registered. 8) You don t have a contract with the oca authority. The oca authority makes payments on behaf of the HAP tenant. 4 What are the terms and conditions of HAP? 1) Compiance with renta accommodation standards. HAP properties, ike other renta properties, must compy with renta accommodation standards. Your oca authority can give you information about these standards, or, visit the Housing Section of the Department of Housing, Panning and Loca Government s website As part of a tenant s appication, you, as andord, must sef-certify that the property meets the required standards. The oca authority wi inspect the property to make sure it meets the standards. They wi arrange this within eight months of the first HAP payment. 2) Tax compiance. To receive HAP payments, you must be tax compiant. You be asked to certify

7 HAP Landord Information Booket that you are tax compiant as part of the tenant s HAP appication. You must produce evidence of tax compiance before payments to you tota 10,000. For more information on tax compiance, pease go to 3) HAP Tenant compiance. Your HAP tenants have to pay a weeky renta contribution to the oca authority in ine 6 with the oca authority s differentia rent scheme. This contribution must be paid by them so that they remain eigibe for HAP, and so that you can, therefore, continue to receive HAP payments. 5 Are there imits on HAP payments? Yes. Under HAP egisation, the Minister for Housing, Panning and Loca Government sets imits for HAP payments based on the number of peope in a househod and the renta market in the ocaity. You can get more information on the imits that appy to your property, which may vary depending on the size of the tenant s househod, from your oca authority. 6 Who pays the renta deposit? The tenant pays the renta deposit. Under HAP, the oca authority does not pay the deposit. In some cases, tenants who quaify for HAP might aso be eigibe for assistance from the Department of Socia Protection. This payment may assist with paying a deposit, subject to approva by the Department of Socia Protection. 7 Who is the andord me or the oca authority? The andord and tenant reationship is between you and the HAP tenant. The tenancy wi be governed by the terms of the Residentia Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended). This means that the HAP tenant is your tenant and is not a tenant of the oca authority.

8 HAP Landord Information Booket 8 Can HAP payments be suspended or stopped? Yes. HAP payments wi stop when either you or your tenant end the tenancy for any of the norma reasons provided for by the Residentia Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended). Loca authorities can aso suspend or stop payments for other reasons. Some exampes are given beow: Exampe 1 Your Tenant s Weeky Rent Contribution is not paid A oca authority may suspend or stop HAP payments if the HAP tenant fais to make the required weeky rent contribution to the oca authority. If this happens, the tenant is responsibe for paying the fu rent themseves. To reduce the risk of this happening, HAP recipients wi generay be required to set up automatic eectronic payment arrangements. Exampe 2 Renta Accommodation Standards HAP payments may aso be stopped if the inspection of the property shows that the accommodation does not meet the requirements for renta properties and that you have faied to bring it up to standard. Exampe 3 No Evidence of Tax Compiance Payments may be stopped if you have not provided evidence of tax compiance to the oca authority before payments to you tota 10,000. As a first step, the HAP payments may be suspended rather than stopped in order to give you time to sort out any difficuties. If these difficuties are resoved, payments resume; if not, payments may be stopped competey.

9 HAP Landord Information Booket 9 How does the changeover from Rent Suppement to HAP payments work? Loca authorities work with the Department of Socia Protection to change tenants over from Rent Suppement to HAP payments. Tenants who have been receiving Rent Suppement for a significant period of time and who have quaified for socia housing support wi be switched to HAP on a phased basis. If your tenant is receiving Rent Suppement, they might contact you about changing to HAP. We expect that these changeover tenants wi stay in their existing accommodation wherever possibe. When you agree to accept housing assistance payments, the changeover wi take pace on an agreed date. After that date, the oca authority wi make HAP payments directy to your bank account on the ast Wednesday of each month. This covers the occupation of the property by the HAP recipient for that caendar month. Both you and your tenant wi be written to at this point to ceary expain the process. Rent Suppement wi continue to be paid by the Department of Socia Protection to tenants who don t quaify for socia housing support for exampe, someone who oses income through temporary unempoyment. When they return to work, there is no onger a need for support.

10 HAP Landord Information Booket 10 Where can I find more information on HAP? Contact the Housing Section of your oca authority. For further information about HAP, visit or The Department of Housing, Panning and Loca Government website: or Citizens Information website: V.5 February 2017