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WQ.246/2023
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOUSING AND COMMUNITIES
BY DEPUTY R.S. KOVACS OF ST. SAVIOUR
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON TUESDAY 30th MAY 2023
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 6th JUNE 2023
Question
“Will the Minister advise -
- whether Housing Policy HD56 is still the current policy for managing under occupancy and, if it is, how many occupancy reviews have been sent to tenants who occupy family size accommodation in each of the last five years;
- if HD56 is not still a current policy, what has replaced it and how is the replacement being monitored and utilised;
- how many tenants have reported under occupancy to the Affordable Housing Gateway; and
- how many tenants have subsequently been re-housed as a consequence of under-occupancy?”
Answer
- This is no longer the policy for managing social housing under occupancy. Housing Policy HD56 was developed ten years ago, prior to the creation of Andium Homes.
- Under occupancy is acknowledged though the Income Support system where the housing component for payments is restricted to the number of bedrooms that a household requires. An occupant is legally required to notify the department about changes in their circumstances, which allows Customer and Local Services to review the level of Income Support paid. This encourages claimants to downsize to a property that reflects the size of the household.
- There are currently 134 downsizers on the Gateway waiting list.
- According to our records, since the Gateway was created, 482 tenants have been re-housed because of under occupancy.