How does the Housing Assistance Payment scheme (Hap) work when you are sharing a home? Can multiple people in the household receive Hap?
In my experience, most of the 119 of our properties that we manage that receive the Hap supplement are families who make one application. Nonetheless, if there was a house with four individuals and two of them applied for Hap, they would receive a shared rate that would be geographically allocated to the specific area. There are different Hap rates in Limerick, Dublin and Cork, which are tied to average rents in the area.
A Hap application by a tenant must be signed by a landlord or an agent and there is a process to go through for both the landlord and the tenant. A landlord cannot refuse Hap and the process will automatically generate an inspection by the local authority, followed by a notice of works, which is for the landlord to undertake.
I would also advise any tenant who is applying for Hap to study it in depth. In my experience, some tenants can end up in a worse financial position after getting Hap as it is tied to the wage they are paid, so the process should be examined carefully by any prospective applicant.
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To answer your question, yes, multiple people in a property can apply for and receive Hap. Prospective applicants should contact their local authority and ask for the Hap section.
Kersten Mehl is a chartered residential agency surveyor and member of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland
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