Publication
Operational Guidelines: SWA: Rent Supplement
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
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).
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:
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.
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;
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.
The Designated Person must be satisfied that;
A person is not entitled to a Rent Supplement if he or she:
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.
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
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.
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.
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:
The means test will also include:
Note that there may be some exclusions and disregards for certain departmental incentive schemes.
The following items are not counted in the means test for Rent Supplement:
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; that is, 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, that is, 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 payments, including increases for dependant adults or children and other allowances paid with the payment, are fully exempt from income tax, PRSI and USC.
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.
The following are the principal income disregards which apply in the calculation of means for Rent Supplement purposes:
For persons participating in approved training courses, any lunch or travel allowances paid are also disregarded. Additionally, certain training courses now provide childcare allowances to participants, these are also disregarded.
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.
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.
From 27 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.
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 6 June 2007; the rules to the calculation are as follows:
Additional income is the amount of income in excess of the SWA rate, applicable to household circumstances and includes income derived from:
The first €95.23 per week of maintenance payments is assessable in full for the purposes of the Rent Supplement Scheme.
Any 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.
Up to €165 of earnings from training or part time employment can be disregarded if you are getting Disability Allowance or Blind Pension. 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.
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 (for example, 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:
| Capital Amount | Assessment Rate |
| First €5,000 | Nil |
| Next €10,000 | €1 per €1,000 |
| Next €25,000 | €2 per €1,000 |
| Any capital over €40,000 | €4 per €1,000 |
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 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.
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:
they should discuss any change in circumstances with the Community Welfare Service.
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 (for example, 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:
Under the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework (NTSF), DSP staff administering the scheme can provide additional financial support where:
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 here.