National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability 2011 - 2016

NDA has recently developed a housing accessibility checklist to provide landlords and estateagents with a tool which can be used to give a more detailed description of the features of ahouse or apartment to let and which gives prospective renters with disabilities a good ideaof its suitability for their needs.(c) Support for landlords. The research indicated that the landlords interviewed hadlimited experience of accommodating tenants with disabilities and there was a lack ofunderstanding, in particular, of disabilities, other than physical disabilities. Awarenessraisingapproaches for landlords could help to develop a better understanding of disabilityand alleviate any concerns which landlords may have regarding letting properties to peoplewith disabilities, e.g. concerns about adapting properties or engaging in a tenancy wheremajor adaptations are required. Existing local authority housing advice services could havea key role to play in providing ongoing support for potential landlords and assist indeveloping formalised linkages, to ensure the availability of good quality accommodation forpeople with disabilities.(d) Incentives for landlords. Consideration could be given to offering financial incentivesto landlords who, for example, agree to undertake and finance adaptations in order to makea property more accessible, thus enabling a tenant with a disability to live independently. Asa broader approach, however, an examination of the provision of tax incentives for landlordswho provide accommodation suitable for people with a disability could be considered. Thisapproach could also include an examination of the issue of increasing tenants’ tax credits forpersons with a disability in the private rental sector.(e) Rent supplement for people with disabilities. Rent supplement is a short termincome support for people living in private rented accommodation, who cannot provide forthe cost of accommodation from their own resources and who do not have accommodationavailable to them from any other source. Rent supplement is an important support forhouseholds whose accommodation needs are being met in the private rental sector, forexample, pending the provision of a long-term housing solution such as social housing 33 .The amount of rent supplement payable to individuals is calculated by the CommunityWelfare Officer (CWO), within the maximum rent levels set down for each county, by theDepartment of Social Protection. People with disabilities often have a higher cost of livingas a result of their disability and their required accommodation, therefore, may be moreexpensive. In certain circumstances, where there are specific housing needs, e.g. where aperson with a disability requires specially adapted accommodation or requires additionalaccommodation to accommodate a carer or a PA, there is discretion to award rentsupplement where the rent is above the set limit for the area. In June 2010, the DSP33At end May 2011 there were approximately 97,400 persons in receipt of rent supplement, of whichapproximately 48,000 were in receipt of the supplement for 18 months or longer.61