Operational Guidelines: SWA: Rent Supplement

Purpose of Rent Supplement

Rent Supplement is a means-tested payment for certain people living in private rented accommodation who can no longer provide for the cost of their accommodation from their own resources, generally due to loss of employment.

In the past, you could apply for Rent Supplement if you were qualified for social housing support and were on the local authority’s housing list. However, people in this situation should now apply for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

Administration

Applications for Rent Supplement are processed by the National Rent Supplement Team.

Department of Social Protection

Community Welfare Service

National Rent Supplement Section

PO Box 12188

Freepost FDN7609

If you have a query in relation to a current rent supplement claim or a new application

• Email: rentsupplement@welfare.ie
• Phone number: 0818 607080 National CWS phoneline

Relevant Legislation

• Chapter 9 of Part 3 and Chapter 3 of Part 10 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 (as amended);
• Part 4 of Schedule 3 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 Rules as to Calculation of Means, (as amended);
• Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 2007 to 2014;
• Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 (HMPA 2014).

Housing Assistance Payment (HAP)

Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) replaced Rent Supplement’s role in the provision of long-term social housing.

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of social housing support for people who have a long-term housing need. It is available in all local authority areas and allows people to take up full-time employment and keep their housing support. Read more on HAP here.

Qualifying Conditions

To qualify for Rent Supplement, the Designated Person must be satisfied that, at the time of application, the claimant is a bona fide tenant and;

• was previously in receipt of a Rent Supplement payment within 12 months of the date of application; or,
• was residing in private rented accommodation for a period of 183 days within the preceding 12 months of the date of claim for Rent Supplement, where on commencement of the tenancy the person could have reasonably afforded the rent and has since experienced a substantial change in his or her circumstances where they are now unable to pay the rent.

Rent Supplement is also available for those persons who have been residing for 183 days or more during the 12 months immediately before the application in an Institution or accommodation for homeless persons as provided under section 10 of the Housing Act 1988, and have not been determined as qualified for social housing support by a housing authority under a social housing assessment pursuant to section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.

Applicants who do not satisfy these conditions will be referred to their local housing authority to have their housing needs assessed. The claimant’s eligibility for social housing support will be determined by their respective local authority.

Other Qualifying Conditions

The Designated Person must be satisfied that;

• The accommodation is suited to the person's needs;
• The amount of rent being paid is in line with the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework guidelines referencing the prevailing maximum rent limits;
• The amount of Rent Supplement payable does not exceed €55 per week for single people and €60 per week for other household compositions, where accommodation is provided through the Capital Assistance Scheme.

Disqualification Criteria

A person is not entitled to a Rent Supplement if he or she:

• Is engaged in full-time work, defined as more than 29 hours a week unless the applicant has been deemed as eligible for the Rental Accommodation Scheme by the local housing authority (see Section 4.1)
• Has a spouse or partner who is engaged in full-time employment
• Is engaged in full-time education (see Section 4.2 for exceptions to this rule)
• Is involved in a trade dispute. However, the dependant spouse and dependent children of a person involved in trade dispute are not excluded from SWA for the period of the strike
• Is living in accommodation where the Rent Supplement support provided by the department is directly or indirectly payable to a local authority
• Is living in accommodation where the Rent Supplement support provided by the department is directly or indirectly payable to the Health Service Executive
• Is living in accommodation provided by a body or organisation which provides services on behalf of, or similar to, or ancillary to the Health Service Executive, where that body uses residential care staff in providing such services and also receives a subvention payment from the Minister for Health in respect of that person
• Is living in accommodation provided by a voluntary housing body where that body receives a subsidy under the Rental Subsidy Scheme
• Is receiving rent allowance (as opposed to Rent Supplement) from the Department of Social Protection due to being a tenant in decontrolled rented accommodation
• Is admitted to an institution for a period in excess of 13 weeks
• Has failed to make a housing needs assessment application upon request by the Community Welfare Service, or failed to cooperate with their respective local authority (for example, has not provided additional documentation requested by the local authority), in making a social housing assessment within the meaning of Section 20 of the Housing Act 2009
• Has vacated local authority accommodation without satisfying the department's representative that there was good cause for doing so
• Has within any continuous 12 month period refused a second offer of accommodation, provided by either a housing authority or any Body approved for the purposes of Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 (No. 18 of 1992), that is, the Capital Assistance Housing scheme;
• Is not lawfully in the State
• Has made an application for asylum under the Refugee Act, 1996 and such application is awaiting final decision by the Minister for Justice and Equality and Law Reform
• Has made an application under the Aliens Act, 1935 to remain in the State and such application has not been determined.

Rent Supplement is not payable where the department has been notified by a housing authority that your property is not compliant with housing standards. Your accommodation must be able to meet the statutory minimum standards set out in law. These are prescribed in regulations made under Section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions Act) 1992.

Rent Supplement may also be terminated where your landlord fails to supply the department with a Tax Reference Number or fails to provide the department with a reason why they have no Tax Reference Number.

Access to rent supplement for victims of domestic violence

Victims of domestic violence referred by Tusla and or by Tusla-funded service providers nationwide can get immediate access to rent supplement. This immediate access to rent supplement provides that victims are not prevented from leaving their home because of financial concerns.

The standard means test for rent supplement will not apply for an initial three month period. Rent supplement can be extended for a further three months, but the usual rent supplement means assessment will apply.

After this six month period, if the person has a long-term housing need, they can apply to their local housing authority for social housing supports and if eligible will be able to access the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

Further details are available at Access to Rent Supplement for victims of domestic violence

Access to rent supplement for persons covered by the EU Temporary Protection Directive

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is responsible for meeting the immediate and short-term accommodation needs of persons availing of protection in Ireland under the EU Temporary Protection Directive.

Since February 2022, rent supplement is available on a flexible basis to support those availing of temporary protection in Ireland and who wish to access private rented accommodation.

Further details and assistance are available from Community Welfare Services at your local Intreo Centre.

Standard Assessment

Rent Supplement is normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the SWA rate appropriate to their family circumstances, assessing all sources of income, taking into account all the relevant deductions and disregards less a minimum contribution which recipients are required to pay from their own resources to arrive at the amount payable. In general, the standard weekly minimum contribution is €30 for a single adult household and €40 for coupled households.

Many recipients pay more than the minimum contribution because recipients are also required, subject to income disregards, to contribute a portion of any additional assessable means that they have over and above the appropriate basic SWA rate towards their accommodation costs.

A further minimum contribution is also payable in respect of each non-dependent adult household member. It is custom and practice to reduce the Rent Supplement payable by at least €30 in respect of each non-dependent household member who is in receipt of a Social Welfare payment or has income from employment.

What Counts as Means

A means test examines all your sources of income. The main ‘means’ income, when calculating your Rent Supplement entitlement, barring any social welfare income, will be from employment or self-employment; this also includes:

• Community Employment;
• Back to Education Allowance;
• Back to Work Allowance;
• Working Family Payment;
• Any additional income from other training and educational opportunities that a person may take part in with the department

The means test will also include:

• The means assessment of the capital value of investments, savings, or value of property other than the claimant's own home.
• All income and the value of all property of which the claimant has deprived himself/herself of in order to qualify for SWA;
• Maintenance Payments (excluding Child Maintenance)
• Any income received in cash, earned or received;
• The income value that can be determined for board, food, or lodgings received in part payment of employment.

Note that there may be some exclusions and disregards for certain departmental incentive schemes.

Non-Assessable Means

The following items are not counted in the means test for Rent Supplement:

• Child benefit, including equivalent payments from other EU countries;
• Mobility Allowance;
• Maintenance payments paid in respect of children: From the 4th June 2024, any maintenance received in respect of a child will no longer be assessed as means on social assistance schemes including SWA Schemes. All other maintenance, including spousal maintenance will continue to be assessed in the normal manner.

Housing costs: Where the other parent continues to pay towards mortgage or rent, this should be considered for the benefit of a child/children and therefore should not be assessed as maintenance received. Where there are housing costs, any maintenance paid in respect of the spouse only continues to be assessed in the normal manner. All forms of Declaration, whether formal or informal arrangements made between the parties, will be accepted.

• Guardian's Payment Contributory or Non Contributory
• Túsla Foster Care Allowance/Boarded Out Children
• Payments received from Túsla for accommodating children under the Child Care Act
• Provision of accommodation to Gaeltacht students (Bean an Tí)
• Domiciliary Care Allowance
• Carer's Support Grant
• Rehabilitation Training Allowance
• Reasonable travel to work and meal costs
• Expenses paid to public representatives
• Blind Welfare Allowance
• Money received from charitable organisations, for example, St. Vincent de Paul
• Payments awarded under various compensation tribunals and the courts for people who have contracted Hepatitis C and/or HIV
• Payments awarded to persons who have disabilities caused by Thalidomide
• Payments awarded under the Residential Institutions Redress Board and the Statutory Fund Board
• Payments made under the Nursing Home Repayments Scheme from the HSE for repayment of overcharged fees
• Any ex gratia payments made in accordance with recommendations proposed by the Scoping Inquiry into the Cervical-Check Screening Programme and any payments made under the package of support measures established in 2018 for women diagnosed with cervical cancer since 2008
• Payments awarded under the Symphysiotomy ex Gratia Scheme, the Lourdes Hospital Redress Scheme 2007 and the Lourdes Hospital Payment Scheme
• Awards paid to people following the publication of the Magdalen Commission Report
• Payments awarded under the Stardust Victims' Compensation Tribunal
• Any payments made by Sport Ireland under the International Carding Scheme
• Any payment made by The Northern Ireland Victim and Survivor Service (VSS) to persons identified in the Victims and Survivors (Northern Ireland) Order 2006
• Maintenance grant provided under the Student Grant Scheme
• The Home Tuition Scheme
• Home Care Grant/Consumer Directed Home Support (CDHS)
• Back to Work Family Dividend
• Any payment made as part of the School Transport Grant for Children with Special Educational Needs;
• Fuel Allowance and the Living Alone Allowance
• Carers' payments: Where half rate Carer’s Allowance is in payment it is non assessable and not taken into account. Full rate Carer’s Allowance is only partially disregarded (see section 3.7.2 below);

Income from Employment

Gross income less PRSI and reasonable travel expenses is taken into account for the means test. Other necessary expenses may be allowed in the case of self-employment.

Subject to the conditions of the scheme, a claimant may work up to 30 hours per week in insurable employment and still qualify for rental support; i.e., they are deemed to be in part-time employment allowing them to retain their Rent Supplement entitlement. A claimant may also work more than 30 hours per week, i.e., deemed to be in full-time employment, if they have been determined as eligible for the Rental Accommodation Scheme. Confirmation of eligibility to RAS is made by the respective local authority.

Rent Supplement Support is Exempt from PAYE, PRSI and USC

Rent Supplement payments, including increases for dependant adults or children and other allowances paid with the payment, are fully exempt from income tax, PRSI and USC.

Payment of Rent Supplement when Taking up Employment

Where entitlement to Rent Supplement is lost due to taking up employment a person will continue to be entitled to the supplement for a period of up to 30 days after starting work or until they receive their first wage / salary payment, whichever is the earlier.

Income Disregards

The following are the principal income disregards which apply in the calculation of means for Rent Supplement purposes:

• Pensioner Disregard;
• Carer's Allowance Disregard;
• Half-rate Carer's Allowance Disregard;
• Additional Income Disregard;
• Earnings Disregard for persons in receipt of Disability Allowance/Blind Pension;
• Assessment of Property & Savings
• Certain income received by a person from renting out a room in their home to a person who is not an employee or immediate family member;
• Accommodation Recognition Payment Disregard;
• Payments from the HSE in respect of persons boarded out of adults;
• Strike Pay;
• SOLAS, Further Education and Training Courses and VTOS Training Bonus;
• Any payments received under the Department of Education and Skills 1916 Bursary Fund;
• Any amount to a maximum of €7,000 per annum from payments made by Uversity Higher Education Scholarship for Adult Learners;
• The Tusla Bursary Scheme for Children in Care and Aftercare;
• The Probation Service's KickStart Scholarship Scheme;
• Payments made to young people who suffered harm or injury whilst in the care of Kerry CAMHS, as identified through the Maskey Report and who have been notified by CAMHS, in the period 1 July 2016 to 19 April 2021;
• Income derived from the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme in accordance with the Victims’ Payments Regulations 2020;
• UCD’s Cothrom na Féine Scholarship Programme;
• Any payment made under the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme, established under section 5 of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 (No. 20 of 2023);
• Any payment made under the scheme operated by the State Claims Agency, known as the ‘Ex gratia scheme - Implementation of the ECtHR (European Court of Human Rights) Judgement in O’Keeffe v Ireland’;
• An amount up to a maximum of €7,000 per annum from payments made by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science’s Student Accommodation Assistance Fund;
• An amount up to a maximum of €7,000 per annum from payments made by Co-operative Housing Ireland’s Scholarship Programme.

Pensioners’ Disregard

A special income disregard exists for those aged 66 years or over. Any additional income equal to the difference between the maximum rate of State Pension (Contributory) and the Supplementary Welfare Allowance appropriate to his or her circumstances is disregarded.

This disregard ensures that any single person aged 66 or over with income equivalent to the value of the maximum rate of State Pension (Contributory) should only make the minimum contribution of €30 per week towards their rent. Similarly, a pensioner couple, who both receive the State Pension (Contributory) at the maximum rate with no other income, would contribute €40 per week towards their housing cost.

Carer's Allowance Disregard

Rent Supplement provides for a disregard of income derived from Carer's Allowance. In the case of a couple, where either spouse is a recipient of Carer's Allowance, the amount to be disregarded is the rate of Carer's Allowance in payment less the SWA adult dependant rate.

In the case of a single person or a Lone Parent in receipt of Carer's Allowance, the amount disregarded is the rate of Carer's Allowance in payment less the personal rate of SWA.

Half-Rate Carer's Allowance Disregard

From 27th September 2007, all income received in respect of half rate Carer's Allowance made under Section 24 of the SW Pensions Act 2007 is disregarded in full.

Additional Income Disregard

The additional income disregard is applied to income received / earned by an individual which is in excess of the appropriate SWA rate for the individual’s circumstances. This disregard ensures that income from employment will be retained in part (and sometimes in full) and not be required to ‘contribute towards the person’s rental costs.

The additional income disregard was introduced with effect from 6th June 2007; the rules to the calculation are as follows:

• Disregard the first €75 of additional income in excess of SWA rate;
• Disregard 25% of additional income in excess, the combined appropriate SWA Rate plus €75 initially disregarded;
• There is no upper limit on the amount that can be disregarded.

Additional income is the amount of income in excess of the SWA rate, applicable to household circumstances and includes income derived from:

• Part-time employment or part-time self-employment (under 30 hours per week);
• Full-time employment or full-time self-employment (30 hours or over per week) where the claimant is accepted as in need of accommodation under the Rental Accommodation Scheme;
• Any employment or approved training scheme e.g. CE, BTWA, BTWEA or FET course;
• Working Family Payment;
• Maintenance Payments in respect of the spouse only in excess of €95.23.

Maintenance Payments

The first €95.23 per week of spousal maintenance payments is assessable in full for the purposes of the Rent Supplement Scheme.

Any spousal maintenance payments in excess of €95.23 per week can use the additional income disregard outlined in section 3.7.4.This allows for the first €75 per week in excess of €95.23 maintenance to be disregarded in full. Any maintenance payments in excess of €170.23 (€95.23 plus €75) also attract the 25% additional income disregard.

Disability Allowance (DA) and Blind Pension (BP) earnings Disregard:

Up to €165 of earnings from training or part time employment can be disregarded if you are getting Disability Allowance or Blind Pension. Any earnings over €165 from training or employment will affect your Rent Supplement. This disregard cannot be used together with 'the additional income disregard' as set out in section 3.7.4. Only one of the disregards can be applied, the officer dealing with your case will apply whichever is the most beneficial for your circumstances.

Assessment of Property & Savings

Capital (savings and investments) and the value of property owned but not personally used or enjoyed are assessed as means. Where capital or property is assessed on this basis, any income received from its use (e.g. interest on savings, dividends from shares, rent from property let) is not assessed as cash income. Instead, the following formula is used to establish weekly means:

Certain income received by a person from renting out a room in their home to a person who is not an employee or immediate family member

The disregard applies to rent supplement payments, effective on 12 July 2022 which provides that certain income received (up to a maximum of €269.23 weekly which equates to €14,000 per annum) by a person from renting out a room in their home to a person who is not an employee or immediate family member that has the use of the room or rooms for a period of not less than 28 consecutive days will be disregarded in the assessment of means.

This disregard applies to the residence of a person who moves out of their home under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, (alternatively known as Fair Deal), and the residence of a Local Authority tenant who rents out a room to a student under the "Room for a Student — Local Authority Scheme".

Accommodation Recognition Payment Disregard

This provides that a person who receives a Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) in respect of hosting persons that are covered by EU Temporary Protection Directive 2001/55/EC will have such payment disregarded in the assessment of means for the purposes of weekly social assistance payments.

The Accommodation Recognition Payment is a scheme to pay a financial contribution for the hosting of Temporary Protection Beneficiaries from Ukraine, as provided in Part 2 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022.

Rent Supplement for those returning to full-time employment

Generally, Rent Supplement support is withdrawn where a person or their spouse/partner is in full-time employment. However, existing claimants may be able to retain their Rent Supplement if they are deemed by a local authority to be eligible to participate in the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).

The Rental Accommodation Scheme is administered by local housing authorities. Its purpose is to provide accommodation from the private rented market or through other social housing measures to persons with long term housing needs.

Where a person is considering participation with:

• Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme
• Work Placement Experience Programme
• Short Term Enterprise Allowance
• Part-time Job Incentive Scheme
• Community Employment Programme
• Tús
• Job Plus
• Any other scheme operated by the State which offers a person a pathway back into work

they should discuss any change in circumstances with the Community Welfare Service.

Back to Education Programme (BTEA)

People in full-time education are generally excluded from receipt of Rent Supplement.

For those people participating in approved courses under the Back to Education Allowance Scheme (BTEA**) they may retain their Rent Supplement support assuming they still meet the other conditions of the scheme.

If a course is ‘non BTEA’ approved the customer is advised to discuss their situation with their Community Welfare Officer prior to starting / applying for the course.

** BTEA is payable to people participating in approved second or third level courses. Income from BTEA is fully assessable under the means test and is not eligible for the additional income disregard. However, recipients of BTEA who have income from another source (e.g. part-time employment) may qualify for the additional income disregard (see Section 3.7).

Rent Supplement support is subject to a limit on the amount of rent that an applicant can apply for. The maximum amount of rent payable is set out under Schedule 1 of SI 412/2007.

Support can be refused where the rent payable to the landlord is in excess of the maximum rent limits set out in Schedule 1 of SI 412/2007. The limits are established by area and for a set number of household family compositions.

The prescribed maximum rent limits do not apply to households which consist of family compositions or sizes which are not set out under Schedule 1 of SI 412/2007: for example, there is no prescribed rent limit in respect of a household consisting of a family with 4 or more children.

SI 412/07 provides that entitlement to Rent Supplement shall be just and proper having regard to the nature, character and location of the residence. This means that DSP staff administering the scheme:

• Have the authority to set limits below the provided maximums for different areas in their locality; and,
• When making decisions in respect of a non-prescribed household type, they must be satisfied that the rent payable is appropriately benchmarked to the maximum limits and local market conditions

Under the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework (NTSF), DSP staff administering the scheme can provide additional financial support where:

• A landlord increases / provides a rent above the prevailing maximum rent limit; or,
• If you or a member of your household requires specially adapted accommodation due to a disability.

With respect to all other cases, any person who is having difficulty with their Rent Supplement, for whatever reason, is advised to contact their local Community Welfare Service.

In certain limited circumstances, individuals may make additional payments themselves above the prevailing rent limit provided that they have additional income in excess of their standard social welfare entitlement.

For those properties funded by Capital Assistance Scheme the amount of Rent Supplement provided cannot exceed €55 per week for single people and €60 per week for other household compositions.

In view of the reduction of supply in the private rented market, under the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework (NTSF), the Department implements a targeted case-by-case approach for existing or new customers providing additional payments above rent limits when deemed necessary.

An arrangement is also in place with Threshold for areas where supply issues are particularly acute: Dublin; Cork; Meath; Kildare; Wicklow; and Galway City.

View details of the current Maximum Rent levels Maximum Rent levels here.