1863. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will preclude AHB’s from increasing tenant’s rents based solely on increases to pensions. [62485/26]

Social housing rents, including those set by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), are generally linked to a tenant's income, providing an inherent protection for tenants on fixed incomes, including older persons.

My Department provides a range of funding streams, through local authorities, to assist AHBs with the delivery of social housing. These include the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF), operated in conjunction with a Payment and Availability Agreement, and the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS). The Capital Loan Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) closed to new applications in 2011.

The terms and conditions of these funding schemes, including the basis for rent setting, are set out in my Department's Memorandum on Capital Funding Schemes for the Provision of Rental Accommodation by Approved Housing Bodies (Voluntary and Co-Operative Rental Housing); VHU: 2/02 of May 2002 and related circulars, together with the relevant mortgage, loan agreements and Payment and Availability Agreements in force between the relevant local authority and AHB. AHB rents may accordingly vary from a local authority differential rent.

Oversight of AHB compliance with these funding conditions, including rent setting and allocations, is a matter for the relevant local authority. AHB tenants with queries in relation to how their rent is calculated should in the first instance contact their AHB landlord directly.

Local authorities set and collect rents on their own dwellings in accordance with section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. The making or amending of local authority rent schemes is generally a matter for individual local authorities, within broad principles set out by my Department, including that rent levels should be based on income and reflect tenants' ability to pay. Local discretion is inherent in the devolved administration of these schemes, and decisions on rent calculation; including any reduced rate arrangements for pensioners, are matters for individual local authorities in line with their own Differential Rent Scheme.

Separately, the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended) regulates the landlord-tenant relationship in both the private rented and AHB sectors, setting out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants, including through third-party dispute resolution services. AHB tenants may contact the RTB and avail of this service; further information is available at www.rtb.ie.

Taken together, the combination of income-linked rent setting, funding-agreement oversight by local authorities, regulatory oversight by AHBRA, and the dispute resolution and tenancy protections available under the Residential Tenancies Act provide a robust framework of protections for AHB tenants, including older persons on fixed incomes. I have no plans, therefore, to introduce additional statutory protections at this time.