Social Housing in Ireland 2022 - Analysis of Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme

Methodology

The results presented in this publication are based primarily on data-linking of pseudonymised data sources held by the Central Statistics Office. The primary data source used is data on tenants, tenancies, properties and landlords of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme.

The following data sources are also used and linked with the HAP datasets

• Residential Tenancies Board Register
• PAYE Real Time Data (since 2019) and P35L Employee level data (prior to 2019)
• Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection's Central Record System (CRS)
• Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection's Long and Short-Term Social Welfare Payments Data
• Building Energy Rating (BER) assessments data compiled by the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI)
• Local Property Tax
• Summary of Social Housing Assessments Data
• Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI)

The linkage and analysis was undertaken by the CSO for statistical purposes in line with the Statistics Act, 1993 and the CSO Data Protocol

Before using personal administrative data for statistical purposes, the CSO removes all identifying personal information, including the PPSN and Eircode. The Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) is a unique number that enables individuals to access social welfare benefits, personal taxation and other public services in Ireland. The CSO removes the PPSN and creates a pseudonymised Protected Identifier Key (PIK). The PIK is a unique and non-identifiable number which is internal to the CSO. A similar process is undertaken to create an Eircode PIK. Using the PIKs enables the CSO to link and analyse data for statistical purposes, while protecting the security and confidentiality of the individual data. All records in the matched datasets are pseudonymised and the results are in the form of statistical aggregates which do not identify any individuals.

Rounding on Graphs and Tables

In some instances, numbers in the graphs and PxStat tables which form proportional distributions have been tweaked to ensure that the sum of the figures when rounded to one decimal place still equal 100.

Data Sources

Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) data

The data relates to details of all tenancies, tenants, properties and landlords that have been involved in the HAP scheme since its introduction in 2014 to the end of 2022. More information on the HAP scheme can be found at www.hap.ie.  All analysis within this publication which relates to the local authority of the HAP property, tenancy, household or tenant is from the location of the property as provided in the HAP dataset. The exception to this is for a small amount of historical tenancies previously identified as being in Cork County which have been re-assigned to Cork City based on 2019 boundary changes. This means that figures for all years, even for those years prior to the boundary change, are based on the new boundaries. 

Analysis related to start year in HAP relates to the first year which the tenant can be identified in a active HAP tenancy regardless of whether they have subsequently left and re-entered the scheme. Analysis relating to exit year relates to the end of their final exit from HAP having not returned prior to the end of 2022.

PAYE Real Time Data (since 2019) and P35L Employee level data (prior to 2019)

Since 2019 the Revenue Commissioners have used a new system of  monthly payroll reporting detailing Pay As You Earn (PAYE) employment, income and deductions. Prior to 2019 data received by the CSO related to an annual P35L employee level return. Both datasets are combined by the CSO with a Central Business Register and includes NACE (Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community) of the Employer.

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection's Long and Short-Term Social Welfare Payments Data

This dataset details extracts of payments from DEASP's Business Object Model System (BOMI) covering all long and short-term schemes. Each payment recorded in the the Integrated Short-Term Payments System (ISTS) is recorded here. 

Central Records System (CRS)

The Central Records System (CRS) is a system within the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) which holds data on customers, including identify data, addresses, relationships, claims, PPS contributions, earnings, employments and employers. As such it is a central repository of basic personal data on individuals held on different systems within DEASP.

Summary of Social Housing Assessments Data (SSHA)

This data includes the SSHA (Summary of Social Housing Assessments – annual report) data that the Housing Agency received from LGMA in years from 2016 to 2022. The data comprises two datasets containing details of gross persons and net households detailing persons and households on the social housing waiting lists (net and gross lists) for all 31 local authorities.  The data received by the CSO does not include persons or households for Cork City, Wicklow, Galway County and Longford from 2016 to 1019. Additional persons and households on the gross lists have not be provided for the four Dublin Local Authorities.

Net lists include households qualified for social housing support across the country at a certain count date but excludes those who have been provided with some social housing support (such as local authority rented accommodation, Voluntary/Co-operative housing, RAS or HAP) and are waiting for a transfer. Therefore, the data in this dataset is of those households that are considered to be the ‘Net Need’ of social housing support.

Gross lists include persons from all applications provided by the local authorities. This data therefore includes persons whose current tenure type is LA rented accommodation, Voluntary/Co-operative housing, RAS or HAP and have applied for a transfer. 

The count dates for each year were as follows:

1 November 2022, 17 November 2021, 2 November 2020, 24 June 2019, 11 June 2018, 28 June 2017, 21 September 2016

For analysis within this publication looking at basis of need and classification of need from the housing list data this examines the first available basis and classification of need from the net and gross lists from 2016 to 2022 (i.e. capturing their reasons and requirements for being on the housing list). Analysis on tenure type identifies this from the most recent net list prior to first entering HAP. Gross lists cannot be used for tenure type because HAP would be recorded as the tenure type for HAP tenants on these lists.

Income Tax Form 11

The Income Tax Form 11 has the annual income tax returns of self-assessed taxpayers, who are either self-employed or have non-PAYE income. 

Building Energy Rating (BER) Assessments Data compiled by the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI)

This data include assessments done for the Building Energy Rating (BER). The data available to the CSO and used in this analysis includes assessments from 2009 to 2022.  Buildings are rated from A to G where A-rated homes are the most energy efficient.

Records are linked to this data on a pseudonymised Protected Identifier Key (PIK) based on the Eircode of properties. Where Eircodes were not provided, the CSO has assigned Eircodes through geocoding processes. Properties whereby the Eircode has not been able to be assigned with sufficient accuracy or where there is the same Eircode for multiple dwellings have not been matched. Not all properties will have had BER assessments.

Table BNM1 details match rates between HAP properties and BER assessments. Where a dwelling has more than one BER assessment is it matched to the most recent assessment. Matches are only made to BER assessments made in years before and including the year of HAP that is being examined.

Income and Employment Definitions

Earned Income

Unless stated, income used in this analysis is Earned Income which is annual gross earnings for the relevant year from PAYE employee income (including income as a director) and IT form 11 self-employed trading income before deductions such as tax and PRSI from Revenue. This is at a household level combining the above income from both the main and joint tenant from HAP. Income is only considered in analysis where one or more of the persons within the household has €500 or more annual gross earned income and 2 or more weeks of PAYE or self-employed employment in the relevant year. Individual earned income is capped at €200,000 per annum.

Where stated, income from years prior to 2022 is inflation adjusted based on changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI - 2016 base) between the December CPI of the relevant year and the December CPI of 2022.

As 2022 self-employed income is not available to the CSO, inflation adjusted self-employed income from 2021 is used in 2022 figures.

Disposable Income

This is calculated as the total gross income minus relevant deductables.

Total gross income includes the following sources of income for the relevant year:

• Employee Income - Employee portion of PAYE gross pay
• Self-employed income - adjusted net profit from self-assessed tax return
• Director income - director portion of PAYE gross pay
• Private & Occupational pensions - Pensioner portion of PAYE gross pay
• Social welfare income - Total annual payments from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, including state pensions
• Income from higher & further education grants

Deducted from this to get the disposable income are:

• Tax, employee PRSI and USC deducted from PAYE gross pay (including from employee, director and pensioner portions)
• Estimated tax, PRSI and USC from self-employed trading income 
• LPT deducted through PAYE

Income and deductions have been combined at a household level from both the main and joint tenant from HAP. Instances where a tenant has not been able to be linked to any income or where their calculated disposable income is less than their calculated rent have been excluded from all relevant analysis within the report.

Employment 

Persons with less than €500 annual gross pay from P35 employee income are not considered to be in PAYE employment nor are those with less than 2 weeks of PAYE employment. Persons with less than €500 IT form 11 self-employed trading income are not considered to be self-employed nor are those with less than 2 weeks of self-employed trading. If neither of these thresholds are met then they are not considered in any employment. A household is considered in employment when either the main or the joint tenant has income which meets either of these thresholds.

For the NACE sector categorisation each person is attributed to the NACE sector of the PAYE employment for which they have the highest gross pay in the year. Only those with €500 or more of PAYE gross pay and two or more weeks of employment are included in the distribution.

Other Definitions

Social welfare schemes

For the purpose of analysis in this publication, HAP tenants are considered to be in receipt of a social welfare scheme where they have received €500 or more in benefits relating to schemes in the relavant group in the year in question. Benefit schemes from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection have been categorised into the following groups:

• Pension Support includes State Pension (contributory and non-contributory), Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension, and Bereavement Grants

• Working Age Income Supports includes Jobseeker’s Benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, One-Parent Family Payment, Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Non-Contributory Pension, Deserted Wife’s Allowance, Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance, Farm Assist, Deserted Wife’s Benefit, Maternity Benefit, Paternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit, Health and Safety Benefit, Redundancy Payments, Insolvency Payments and Rural Social Scheme, Tús - Community Work Placement Initiative, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance, Short-Term Enterprise Allowance, Part-time Job Incentive Scheme, Working Family Payment, Back to Work Family Dividend, JobsPlus Incentive, and Partial Capacity Benefit

• Illness, Disability and Caring Supports including Illness Benefit, Invalidity Pension, Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Support Grant, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance, Medical Care Scheme, Injury Benefit, Disablement Benefit, Constant Attendance Allowance, Incapacity Supplement, Death Benefit

• Children Related Supports including Child Benefit, Working Family Payment, Guardian’s Payment (Contributory), Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory), Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, Widowed or Surviving Civil Partner Grant, Family Income Supplement

• Supplementary Payments including Electricity Allowance, Gas Allowance, Free Television Licence, Fuel Allowance, mortgage support

Reasons for HAP Exit

HAP tenancy exit reasons used in the publication are from cessation reasons given in the HAP dataset.

Unless otherwise stated, all analysis of exits within this publication solely concern a households most recent exit from a HAP tenancy and only includes those households that have yet to return to HAP prior to the end of 2022.

These reasons are typically provided by the tenant and/or landlord. In this publication the reasons have been categorised into the following groups:

Tenant Non-Compliance including 'Anti Social Behaviour', 'Non Payment of HAP Weekly Differential Rent', 'Non Payment of Top Up Landlord Monthly';

Landlord Ends Tenancy including 'Landlord In Receivership', 'Landlord Selling the Property', 'Landlord gave notice to Tenant';

Accommodation/Landlord Non Compliance including 'Non Compliance - Rental Accommodation Standards', 'Non Compliance - Tax Clearance Certificate', 'Fire Safety Notice';

Tenant Ends Tenancy including 'Tenant gave notice', 'Voluntary exit from HAP';

Social Housing including ‘Social Housing’;

Deceased Tenant including ‘Deceased Tenant’;

Miscellaneous including 'Change from Landlord/Agent for payments', 'Exceptional circumstances - Differential Rent increase', 'Exceptional circumstances - Education', 'Exceptional circumstances - Landlord Monthly Rent increase', 'Exceptional circumstances - Medical', 'Exceptional circumstances - Property Standards', 'Exceptional circumstances - change in family composition', 'Exceptional circumstances - work in different area', 'Family Composition HAP Change CAP', 'Family Composition HAP New CAP', 'Landlord/Agent Change', 'Movement within HAP after 2 years', 'Tenant Change';