Social Housing Support

Social Housing Support

Housing Assistance Payment

If your income is below a certain threshold, you may be eligible for Social Housing Support. The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of Social Housing Support. Before you become eligible for the Housing Assistance Payment, you are required to submit an application for Social Housing Support to your Local Authority and wait for it to be approved. 

What is the maximum I can earn?

The income limit will depend on where you live and your family size.

To give an example: If you are a single person living in Dublin, you must earn less than 40'000 euro per year (after tax) to be eligible. 

To find your income limit, please check this table

Please be aware, you cannot start a Social Housing Support application if you have no income. If you are not working, you will need to apply for a social welfare payment. For information on mainstream social welfare see the Citizen's Information webpage here.

Below, we outline a number of steps involved in renting with the Housing Assistance Payment.

Step 1: Applying for Social Housing Support

You can apply for Social Housing Support through your Local Authority. Our Housing team runs clinics to support people with their applications. You can email our housing team at: housing@irishrefugeecouncil.ieWhat is my Local Authority?Your local authority, also referred to as the county council or city council, provides local services, exercises local level powers, and provides a forum for the democratic representation of local communities. It also administers Social Housing Support, including the Housing Assistance Payment.Find your Local Authority here.
What is a local connection?Your local authority is a test that is applied to determine your Local Authority. It is usually the one, the area of which, you are currently residing.Other considerations in the local connection test include: Your employment, education, medical needs, or where your family reside.How do I apply for Social Housing Support?You will need to print and complete an application form and gather supporting documents. You can find the application from on the Local Authority's website.The Dublin City Council form is hereWhen you were granted status, you should have received a letter informing you of your housing caseworker who can support you. Housing caseworkers usually work for housing charities such as Peter McVerry and Depaul Ireland. You can ask your housing caseworker for help.You can also contact our office for assistance. Please email housing@irishrefugeecouncil.ieHow long will it take for my application to be approved?This depends on the Local Authority. You can expect to wait around 3 or 4 months.When your social housing application has been approved, your name will be added to a waiting list of social housing. At that point you become eligible for the Housing Assistance Payment.

Step 2: Finding somewhere to rent

Finding somewhere to rent (especially within the HAP limits) in Ireland is extremely difficult. However we do conduct tenancy finding workshops where we can give you advice.

See here an example an email you could to send to landlord:

Step 3: Complete HAP paperwork

You should request the (homeless) HAP paperwork from your Local Authority, after your social housing application is approved. You will complete Section A and send it to the Local Authority.Your Landlord will complete Section B and send it to the Local Authority.The supporting documents you will require are listed on the application form. Make sure you provide everything they are looking for. If you need advice on completing the HAP paperwork, please email housing@irishrefugeecouncil.ie

HAP Rates

What is Homeless HAP (HHAP)?

If you are moving out of IPAS accommodation or are registered as homeless by the Local Authority, you may be entitled to homeless HAP.

There are extra benefits to HHAP:

The HHAP rate is usually higher than the HAP rate. Also with HHAP, the the Local Authority will pay your deposit + 1 or 2 months rent paid upfront.

HAP and HHAP rates

It can be confusing to calculate how much HAP or HHAP you will be granted.

But it is very important that you do this correctly. You need to understand your budget in order to find a tenancy you can afford.  

The amount of HAP you will receive depends on various factors:

  • If you want to find shared accommodation or rent your own place
  • The size of your family
  • Where your tenancy is

What are the regular HAP rates?

HAP rates cary across Local Authorities. Regular HAP rates are advertised online, you can see the full table here.

However, Local Authorities have discretion to offer more than the amount advertised online.

What are the homeless HAP rates?

For Homeless HAP, Dublin City Council (see image below) can offer up to 50% more than the advertised HAP rate. 

Outside of Dublin, Local Authorities can offer up to 20% more. 

To give you an idea, the table below shows the regular HAP rates as well as the maximum HHAP rates across four different Local Authorities.

15 % Top Up

Remember, if you need, you can also add an additional 15% of your income to your total HAP rate.

Case Study

I am a single person and my social housing application to DCC was approved.I want to try and rent myown home (not shared accommodation).I should be eligible for homeless HAP because I am moving out of IPAS accommodation.The Council offers me the maximum HHAP rate of €1215. I am working and earning €2000 euro per month:15% of 2000 is 300. Therefore, I can pay a top up of €300. This goes directly to my landlord.My total budget is €1515Can I rent anywhere in Ireland?Yes, you will be able to rent anywhere in the country.For example, if you applied for social housing in Galway City Council. You will be able to rent (with HAP support) in Galway, Dublin or anywhere else in country.Once you are on a social housing list, you can get HAP in any county.You will need submit the HAP paperwork to your Council. In other words, the Council where you are on the list.You should get the HAP rate for the county where you are moving to (but you will only get the higher rate of Dublin HHAP if you are on a Dublin housing list).

How can the Irish Refugee Council help me?

  • If you need help completing your social housing application, email us and we will invite you to one of our weekly workshops. The demand for these is high, so you may have to wait one month.
  • If you have found a place to rent and need help completing the HAP paperwork, or gathering the supporting documents, please email us and we will give you an appointment
  • If your family are arriving to Ireland on family reunification and you need housing advice, please email housing@irishrefgueecouncil.ie as early as possible in advance of their arrival
  • If you have Stamp 4 and are looking for help accessing homeless services, we cannot help you with this. Please contact Focus Ireland, Tiglin The Lighthouse or Merchants Quay Ireland. Please be aware, accessing homeless services can be very difficult and very slow