COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Tuesday, May 07, 2019

QUESTION NO. 2

QUESTION: Councillor M. Johansson

To ask the Chief Executive to outline how long families are spending in homelessness on average including a breakdown of the time spent in homelessness by those who get housed through HAP and those who get housed by the council or AHB?

REPLY:

The time families spend in homeless accommodation including B&Bs, hotels and family hubs can vary greatly depending on the individual housing need of the family, time on the Council's housing list, the date of homeless priority for the applicant and their engagement with CHoice Based Letting.  The fastest exit route out of homelessness is through private rented accommodation using the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) at the higher rate.  This enhanced HAP rate is available to all those who have been asssessed as homeless or at risk of homelessness by the Council and the placefinder team supports homeless applicants to source private rented accommodation.

Currently, the actual average time on the housing list for homeless applicants is three and a quarter years of which their average time in homelessness is one year and eight months. This indicates that many housing applicants are presenting as homeless as they apply for housing which presents policy challenges and requires further examination of the circumstances causing such situations.