Housing Assistance Payment HAP
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How much rent do I pay the local authority?
The weekly rent contribution that you pay is based on the ‘differential rent scheme’ for your local authority. This scheme links the rent contribution you pay to your household income and your ability to pay. If your income increases so does your rent contribution, and if your income decreases, the weekly rent contribution decreases.
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You must notify the local authority of any changes in your income or household size, so that your rent contribution can be recalculated. If you take up a job or increase your working hours, you will still qualify for HAP, as there is no income limit for HAP once you have qualified for the scheme. Check with your local authority for the details of their differential rent scheme.
How do I pay rent to the local authority?
Your weekly rent contribution to the local authority should be paid using either:
- The Household Budget Scheme at the post office
- A standing order with your bank. (You should use the standing order form on the HAP website to set this up.)
If your rent is not automatically paid in these 2 ways, you can pay it:
Online using the Housing Assistance Payment Portal
- Using the HAP app (pdf)
- By phone on 061 529 654
- Using a HAP Bill Pay Card in any Post Office or shop displaying the PostPoint sign
You will need your HAP recipient ID and password if you are paying online, by phone or with the HAP app. You got these details when you signed up to HAP. But if you can’t find them, you can get them again by contacting HAP on 061 556 600 or hapcollections@limerick.ie.
You can also get a statement of your HAP payments online or using the HAP app.
If you overpay your rent by mistake, you can apply for a refund.
Paying your landlord
The local authority will make the HAP payment to your landlord on the last Wednesday of each month. This payment is subject to certain conditions:
- You must pay your weekly HAP rent contribution to the local authority - if not, the local authority will stop paying your landlord
- If you get a social welfare payment at a post office, you must pay your HAP contribution through the Household Budget Scheme
- The accommodation must meet minimum standards for rented housing
- Your landlord must have current evidence that they are tax compliant
- You and anyone in your household must not engage in anti-social behaviour
Find more information about these terms and conditions on hap.ie.
All local authorities use the HAP Shared Services Centre to collect rents from HAP tenants and make HAP rental payments to landlords.
Additional rent payments, rent affordability and deposits
Additional rent payments
If your rent is more than the HAP limits allowed for your household, you pay any additional amount directly to your landlord. These payments are often known as top-up payments.
Rent affordability
Your local authority must make sure that your HAP tenancy is sustainable. This means that after you pay your rent to your local authority and any additional payments to your landlord, you still have enough to pay your other bills and live on. You will not get a HAP payment if you can’t afford the rent.
Local authorities have different ways to assess if your HAP tenancy is sustainable.
There are guidelines for local authorities that say a local authority may consider your HAP tenancy sustainable if your household:
- Is in employment and you use less than 35% of your monthly household income to pay your differential rent to the local authority and any additional top-up rental payments to your landlord
- Relies only on social welfare supports and you use less than 30% of your monthly household income to pay your differential rent to the local authority and any additional top-up rental payments to your landlord
However, these are only guidelines, and local authorities have flexibility about how they judge if a tenancy is sustainable and how they assess income for this. This can be different from one area to another.
Deposits
If your landlord needs a deposit, you have to pay this yourself. The local authority does not pay it for you. In certain circumstances, you may be able to get assistance from the Department of Social Protection to help pay your deposit. If you are in emergency homeless accommodation, your local authority may help with a deposit.
Will the rented accommodation be inspected?
The local authority will inspect your accommodation within 8 months of the first HAP payment to your landlord, unless the accommodation has already been inspected in the last 12 months. An inspector will check that the accommodation meets the minimum standards for rented housing.
What if my circumstances change?
When you have qualified for social housing support and are getting HAP, you will continue to get the payment, even if your circumstances change and you no longer meet all the qualifying criteria of the social housing assessment.
For example, if your income rises above the income threshold for social housing, you can still get HAP. However, you must inform the local authority if your income changes, so they can recalculate the differential rent you pay, see Rent contribution below.
HAP and the social housing waiting list
If you are getting HAP, you can still access other social housing supports, like social housing. Getting HAP will not reduce your chances of getting these other supports.
However, you will not access these supports through the local authority’s housing waiting list anymore. Instead, when you start getting HAP, you apply to your local authority to be put on their transfer list. This means you will still be considered for local authority housing, or housing provided by an approved housing body.
You can stay on this even if your income goes above the income limit for social housing.
What if I need to end my HAP tenancy?
You will be expected to stay in your HAP accommodation for at least 2 years. In some situations you may be able to apply for a new HAP payment somewhere else. For example, if you are offered a job in another town or if your family grows too large for the property. You need to contact your local authority if you are thinking of moving.
If you or your landlord wants to end a residential tenancy, you must both follow the rules for ending a tenancy. Read more on Threshold’s website.