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IN MARCH 2017, the completion of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme was announced. There was a grand hurrah in the Dáil, a pat on the back for Minister Simon Coveney, and it seemed for one short lived moment as if this grand scheme may actually ameliorate the dire housing crisis which Ireland, in particular Dublin, now finds itself creaking under.
Except they overlooked one crucial tenet: why on earth would a landlord willingly bother to avail of it?
Why indeed. There are different sub-categories within the scheme, but I speak with an insider’s view on the homeless HAP scheme, and just how soul-destroyingly difficult it is to get a homeless HAP property in today’s housing crisis.
It looks good on paper
Now, on paper the HAP looks very good. The council pay the bulk of the rent, and the tenant pays an amount which is indexed to income. The landlord even gets some tax relief.
But compare this seemingly sound scheme to stigma around poorer socioeconomic groups, and, as I discovered, the fear that comes with allowing such people to inhabit a landlord’s property, and you’re going to come up against some serious issues.
It shows in the statistics. Since HAP’s inception, there have been just 1,641 homes let out to the homeless. Compare this with the figures we’re actually experiencing: 8,000 in emergency accommodation (bearing in mind that 3,000 of those are children.)
And that doesn’t even cover the hidden homeless or those who choose to sleep rough rather than enter the homeless hostel system. The HAP system for the homeless quite simply isn’t working.
My 7-month search
As for my own story with the homeless HAP, after one week of what turned out to be a seven month long search, I started referring to it as ‘the HAP bomb’. Everything would be going fine on the phone. Pleasant conversation, a quick chat about landlord and work references. I play music, so do not earn very much, but had several references.
Then, when I would mention that I would be availing of the HAP scheme, an inevitable change of tone would follow: ‘There’ll be a lot of people there.’ ‘I wouldn’t want to waste your time.’ ‘Please don’t call back if I don’t email you the address.’
The list of responses after the HAP bomb was dropped became blackly entertaining when I became immune to how crushing it was.
Now consider the homeless population who are far less fortunate than me. I was given a good education, and had references (several of which would have gone to a ‘moot’ pile because of the trauma of homelessness if I’d had to stick it out any longer).
What about the people who don’t have the references, or the resources, or the right accent, or the right clothes? Who’s going to house them? Getting a place has become akin to a job interview, and with homeless HAP people aren’t even being allowed to show up.
It’s already illegal to discriminate
Certainly the estate agents are aware of the law that it is illegal to discriminate against HAP applicants. This means they are obliged to say yes but as I realised a HAP applicant stands no chance against a well-remunerated individual seeking the same property.
And why would the landlord avail of the scheme? Even if they are going on good conscience (which the HAP seemed to rely on and which is totally unrealistic in the middle of a property boom with soaring rental prices), they face a massive delays in getting their deposit and first month rent, on top of which they have to fill out reams of paperwork. It is simply not appealing to any landlords, no matter how well-meaning some of them are.
In short, the HAP system is simply not working. Coveney refuses to acknowledge that, and in the face of ever increasing barriers we can only expect the homelessness epidemic to escalate further. What needs to be called is a national emergency.
This is an epidemic on a massive scale. We need more houses, more social supports, and far, far more supports for the homeless population. They are suffering in ways which you have to experience to fully understand. Only when we come to terms with the length and breadth of the problem can we hope to begin to tackle it in a constructive and problem-solving way.
Christine O’Donnell is interested in writing on topics related to mental health, LGBT rights and marginalised groups within Irish society. She is also a musician and volunteers her spare time to fundraise for causes she feels strongly about.
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I think the question has to be asked why are landlords so reluctant to take HAP. Logically the majority of the rent is guaranteed and that’s a tax break? The problem is once you get a bad tenant, you can’t get rid of them. They hold you and your home to ransom. In a lord land’s market why take the risk? Perhaps if the government put measures in place to protect a landlord then they would be more willing to take on HAP.
@john Appleseed: it’s not guaranteed though. If the tenant stops paying the local authority their percentage the LA stops all the rent to the house owner. Ad in required paperwork. Ad in HAP housing inspection and likely refurb costs and it becomes unappealing.
@john Appleseed: as well as hap pays end of month and not in advance, so if tenant stops paying their shares to hap, hap stops payment to landlord, leaving it to the landlord to sort the issue usually by eviction which at minimum is another 28 days later, so down two months rent.
Hap also doesn’t pay security or a month in advance so tenant is trying to convertw up with that.
Also hap are slow processing the paper work and only pays from the date they processes the paperwork not the date the tenant moved in. So landlord and tenant have to sort that out and it could be anything from a week to a month worth of rent.
And of course hap pays way under the market value so the difference is made up by tenant
@john Appleseed: the main problem is that while the HAP pays most of the rent it takes none of the risk. If the tenant messes up then the Council simply washes its hand of the problem. While the Landlord is then left with a worse problem. Landlords are entitled to expect that their property be well maintained by the tenant and the main payer of the rent that is the Council should be proportionally liable for repair of damages caused because it is legally a party to the rent arrangement. In effect the HAP scheme has created a double problem for the Landlord.
@Cian O Donoghue: I have sympathy with paying part but the refurbish after housing inspection is only unfair as they can rent sub standard housing on the private market. They shouldn’t be allowed sub standard housing anywhere and if that means all rentals to be inspected then society is better for it.
@john Appleseed: I’m on hap am I a bad tenant noooooo I’m on disability does that make me a lesser person noooo not everyone on hap are a waste of space as society seems to think….
@Melissa O’Callaghan: there are plenty of people on the street due to this thinking. Why are the upper stories of buildings in every village town and city empty? Outlawing tenament and studio accommodation. If people can only afford poor quality accommodation let people provide it.
@Sinead m: typical whiney poor me post. All I asked for was better protection for landlords who get a bad tenant so off your high horse please.
@Sinead m: But unfortunately for you, many people on HAP are terrible tenants. You are much more likely to face astronomical costs from people who destroy their houses. If you were renting, would you give it to somebody who was not working, living at home (greater wear and tear), or would you want a professional accountant who has a steady income, is working during the week etc. Its certainly not fair for all the decent tenants out there but there are NO safeguards in place for good landlords who are unfortunate to have terrible tenants. There is a case ongoing at the moment where a HAP tenant caused 35K worth of damage to a house. No amount of rent is every going to cover that.
@Cian O Donoghue: agree, though in my friend’s experience of having her existing tenancy moved to HAP, she was told that the housing inspection wouldn’t happen in reality. She was disappointed as there were several outstanding repairs that are really getting her down and she hoped an inspection would put on the pressure to get them sorted. The trouble is that in this market (and this is in Mayo – it’s just as bad here) she falls into the ‘grateful to have a place at all’ category, especially one near to her kids school etc.
There is a couple of major problems with the housing crisis. One, is that would be tenants are demanding a higher quality of housing than before, this is more expensive and time consuming to make this kind of high quality housing available. Maybe if homeless people lowered their expectations somewhat the crisis would be resolved a lot quicker.
Secondly, there are too many people, like the author, who are on schemes such as HAP who shouldn’t be. For a person who says they are well educated and that their current career doesn’t pay, why don’t they look for work in a field that does pay? Should the tax payer really be funding someone to follow their dreams of a person who does not act responsibly and get a job that enables them fend for themselves? This way at least schemes like HAP could be focused on those that are most vulnerable.
@Dark Knight: Exactly. I would love to play music for a living but my bills have to paid. I’ve also seen people receive HAP who have quit their jobs to return to college. Why are the government paying them to do this?
@Dark Knight: You make an excellent point. The author of this article states that she has a good education, is clearly articulate and should be somewhat intelligent. So why is she happy to earn a low income…which the Irish taxpayer by default is picking up the tabs for her lifestyle. HAP should be for genuine cases, I don’t see this as one. She should go back to college and get an actual job, one that enables her to grow up and live on her own two feet without needing anybody elses help.
@Dark Knight: Cheek of the homeless to want quality accomodation. They should be happy in mould ridden rat infested hovels so should they ?
@Catherine Sims: I don’t think that is what he is saying. It is a reality though that the Minimum Standards in Housing Legislation, well-intentioned as they may have been, forced the closure of thousands of bedsits in Dublin and their occupants were then forced to seek alternative premium-let accommodation at substantially higher prices.
@Sean: And that is because the bedsits were mostly of a standard that you wouldn’t want people to live in. I have lived in one for a couple of years: a damp, dark basement bedsit in the North inner city. It was cheap, but it was terrible. We fled after an infestation of cockroaches.
@Dark Knight: don’t be tarring everyone with the same brush. In order to be eligible for HAP you’ve to get onto a local authority housing list to be eligible for HAP. There is an income limit either as a couple or as an individual €35k per year. If you can find someone who is willing to pay €2k-€3k per month is crazy if you ask me. Their are genuine people in genuine cases, you don’t know the authors personal life, we all see an article for a media platform possibly starting out as a journalist they won’t make much, story needs to be approved by an editor etc. There are a lot of people working harder than ever & not making much compared to 10 year ago & that was the problem too much money floating & now we see the problem tenements are back bedsore are back under “studio” udder BS
Seriously? Do a bit of research…. this article is very one sided….. there are many negative financial reasons that a landlord would not use hap. One of them is, if the tenant stops paying rent to the council, the council stops paying you, then you have a very difficult eviction ahead of you, dealing with the council and the tenants. The main one for me was, the council have very high standards for hap housing, they have to be up to the highest current building regulations. Those standards are expensive to implement. I live in a house that I have recently renovated, it would not come close to the building regulations- new boiler, ventilation in the walls- among a list of other things. Why would I want to deal with that? Also the deposit is kept by the council, their idea of wear and tear gives an awful lot of leeway to the tenant, adding more expense and no security to the landlord.
I rented out my last property to a tenant using ‘availability housing’ – it gives me control over my investment.
@Patrick Clifford: bit of a nonsense article really…..obviously we have major issues in urban areas with “supply and demand”….given a choice between a professional tenant or a tenant availing of a government backed assistance scheme with all the red tape that comes with that……lets be honest…its a no-brainer
A problem for the landlord apart from all the paperwork is the rent is paid a month in arrears and if the tenant is late on or doesn’t pay their portion of the rent then HAP won’t pay the remainder to the landlord. As most landlords are paying the mortgage they can’t afford to be short on rent.
Christine, like many who have written on this topic and topics like this you’ve taken the easy route. Its a desk article written from your own focus. Why not interview landlords and bring some balance to the article. That wouldn’t be populist though!
@Liam Treacy: it’s a Voices article, i.e. an opinion piece – not intended to be a piece of journalism surely?
There are a lot homeless due to addiction and with mental health issue who have a history of non payment of rent and destroying their previous accommodation no landlord will rightfully want those as tenants and will be weary of rent to anyone who is homeless because of that.
What is not spoken about is the amount of repeat homelessness that is out the the same people returning to being homeless after been housed multiple times due to the above addiction and mental health issues.
Mental Health and addiction are bigger issues than homelessness in this Country but no one wants to talk about that.
I have a problem with people like the author trying to make use of a “last resort” scheme for the marginalised and vulnerable section of society who might find themselves homeless. If you are a talented musician and can articulate yourself well in the media, you should not be in a position where you need to be availing of this last resort hand out. A friend who is working in the central bank also qualified for hap, it makes a nonsense of the scheme.
I suggest some research. Attacking landlords when they dont want the bureaucracy is a mistake. Dealing with HAP is a bureucratic pain in the ass. I have 2 properties with them. One tenant has given notice and I’m not sure I’ll accept another. Nothing wrong with the tenants. The payment should be seamless and private between tenant and HAP. Leave landlord out of the equation. Landlords dont have to know. They musn’t trust tenants?
Do landlords not have the right to set their requirements? If HAP refuse to the terms of the landlords contract ie. deposit and payment in advance 12-24 month contract. Then of course landlords should refuse them. Nanny State gone mad: tenants board setting requirements the state won’t meet itself as landlord or lesser
I am a landlord by default my property is worth a 3rd of the price I paid for it, the rent I get doesn’t even cover my mortgage and over heads, I have rented to a HAP couple. As the rent is paid by the county council they share your information with other gov bodies (revenue). Landlords do not get a tax break until after 3 yrs, you have your tax liabilities and if you can’t afford to pay them then you can’t get tax clearance, the county council require before they will pay you under the HAP scheme, I will be unable to keep my tenants in the house under the hap scheme, Accountancy fees, prtb, lease fees, management fees, maintenance it all adds up. I would tell any landlord not to take the HAP. It’s another way of the government to get money from “landlords”.
Im a landlord, have always treated my tenants well. Keep rent lower than what it should be so i can keep them. I would have an issue renting to HAP tenants as long as the council have the option of not paying me if the tenants are late. The author should really look for other employment if shes so ticked off with landlords. Get off her behind and actually make a contribution to society instead of following her music “career”. I want to play in the premier league but I know that as it probably wont happen i need to make a good living in some other way and not rely on the state. Its scroungers like this author who are responsible for hospital closures, pay for nurses etc being so bad. Grow the hell up author and stop bleeding us dry!!
@AJ: have u any properties to let at the minute not using happ? That’s not extortion prices ?
@AJ: have u any properties to let at the minute not using hap? That’s not extortion prices ?
The author states ‘Since HAP’s inception, there have been JUST (my emphasis) 1,641 homes let out to the homeless.’ He omits the total lettings in the same period. If it’s 1,641 out of 5,000 lettings that is almost 33%. Out of 10,000 it’s 16.4%. Even out of 20,000 lettings that would be over 8% – a huge number in the context of a marginal scheme operating within the greater private lettings market. His omission is significant because he pegs the rest of the article on the fact that HAP isn’t working. At 1641 lettings it would appear HAP is working.
@Kevin O’Donnell: I know I’m being pedantic but it was written by a she, not a he.
@CazzoA: ooopppss! Genuinely thought that was a man in the photo. It’s a bit blurry
Banks like to have the mortgage paid every month and this makes landlords risk averse when choosing tenants. HAP tenants are higher risk as a group. You have your wannabe musicians, your precariously employed etc but also the serially unemployed with some antisocial elements. The government could have tackled this by saying to the landlord that if you take a HAP tenant we’ll guarantee the payment every month, you won’t be waiting for payment and we’ll pay for any damages and evict anti-social tenants. Instead they made it illegal to discriminate against HAP tenants but this just wastes everyone’s time. The HAP tenant ends up ringing a landlord who has no interest in a HAP tenancy but who can’t refuse outright as before and must instead string them along. Unsatisfactory all round.
Landlords can rent to whoever they want. It’s their bloody property ! If people on HAP are having trouble getting rented accommodation they need to look at themselves and ask why.
This was another poorly thought out scheme/ idea from Simon coveney. Coupled with rent controls that guranteed a dual rate rental, i.e those who charged reasonable rents (below market average) and those who increased and increased. Everyone is tied to the 4% rule now, which guarantees that the higher priced properties will continue to rise at a higher rate than cheaper properties.
The HAP scheme makes no sense as the landlord loses all income if the tenant stops paying the council. Unfortunately some people (not all obviously) availing of the scheme are unreliable, so the risk is too great for landlords. The tax break is laughable too….so there’s no carrot at the end of the stick.
Classism the last bastion of acceptable open prejudice. What is the would you expect when we have a very classist, (not classy) Taoiseach?
Landlords in this country should hold their heads in shame. Complete and utter greed no better than bankers that put the country in this hole.
@jenny bumbles: and with a statement like that it shows that you have no clue at all !
@jenny bumbles: sadly I think you are incorrect about landlords , same tenants unbelievable, one of mine sold the washing machine and lady without paying 2 mths rent . One has to be very careful who they rent their property too
@jenny bumbles: your probably one of the people that think everything should just be handed to you. Majority of landlords would have no problem giving up their rental property as it’s just not worth the hassle or viable. If it was a business it would be bankrupt long ago. I agree some landlords with multiple properties who I think run their rentals as a commercial business May be different. People with one property to rent are just stuck with trying to pay the mortgage and don’t make any profit.
@jenny bumbles: I’m a landlord. I worked extemelly hard for my properties in jobs i never really wanted to work in. I paid my taxes and never broke the law. I contributed to society through social work and taxes. I am kind to my tenants and offer a fair rental price. Why should I hand my head in shame.
She wasn’t criticising Landlords – she was criticising HAP because HAP is crap.
Her descriptions of her experience dealing with landlords is just describing how the landlords mood quickly changes when HAP is mentioned.
Left
In order for HAP to work, the LA needs to guarantee that they will restore the property to its original condition, after the tenant has left.
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