Rent supplement payment limits are to increase for thousands of people living in urban areas across the country from this month onwards.
However, the payment limits are due to drop for many others living in mostly rural areas, following a downward trend in the cost of rent.
Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton tonight announced new rent limit for the estimated 85,000 people in receipt of the payment across the State.
It is good news for tenants in Dublin and Galway, where rent ceilings are due to increase by up to €75 per month for a family with two children.
However, rent ceilings are due to drop by up to €80 for families renting in rural counties such as Monaghan, Tipperary and Wicklow.
The new limits will come into force on Monday week and will be in place until the end of next year.
The changes will be welcomed by housing support groups in the capital, who say some tenants have been forced into homelessness because they could not access affordable rent. However,the move is likely to put new pressure on many tenants in parts of the country where the rent ceiling is being lowered.
Ms Burton said the new rent limits reflect increases in the cost of rent in areas such as Dublin and Galway. She said the new rent supplement limits will benefit tenants due to increased availability of property with the elevated price range.
The reductions in rent limits in rural counties reflected conditions in these rental markets, she added.
In a statement tonight, Ms Burton said the review was aimed securing value for money for taxpayers, as well as ensuring those dependent on the payment are not priced out of the market. The changes in rent supplement payments, she said, were based on an analysis of the rental market using data from the Central Statistics Office and other sources that advertise rental properties. It is expected the cost of the adjustment will add a further €7 million to social welfare spending this year.
“The revised limits reflect the current market conditions and will increase in a number of urban locations,” Ms Burton said. “These increases will help customers sourcing accommodation in these areas within the prescribed limits. It is also my intention to introduce revised limits in the commuter areas of north Kildare and Bray, which will alleviate the pressures experienced by customers in these locations, as indicated by the findings of the review.”
She said the extra cost of increasing rent ceilings will be met from within the Department’s existing budget for the year.
Rent supplement provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation, whose cannot afford their monthly rental payments. It is subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant may incur. These limits are set at levels that allow eligible households to secure and retain basic suitable rented accommodation.
Due to the increase in the overall volume of people renting property, the market share for rent supplement has fallen from 40 per cent to approximately 30 per cent. The Department’s review sets rent supplement maximum rates at such a level to ensure that 35 per cent of the relevant market is suitably priced for rent supplement recipients.
