The Rental Accommodation Scheme or RAS is a private-sector based accommodation option which may be considered to meet the housing need of persons approved for social housing support and who are in receipt of a Rent Supplement Allowance (from the Department of Social protection) normally for a period of 18 months+. It is an alternative option to the provision of Council-owned or Long Term Leased property in meeting housing need.
Under the scheme Donegal County Council may enter into a 3-way contract with a property-owner and a tenant (known as a Residential Tenancy Agreement) under which the Council will pay rent for the property directly to the owner.The tenant does not make any rent contribution to the owner/landlord but instead pays a rent contribution directly to the Council calculated under the council’s Differential Rent Scheme for Council tenancies i.e. under RAS the tenant pays the same contribution/amount to the Council for private rented accommodation as a tenant in a Council house with the same household income would pay. The tenant does not make any rent contribution directly to the landlord in respect of their RAS tenancy.
Where the housing authority are of the view that RAS is the most appropriate form of social housing support for an applicant, a person may transfer onto the scheme in one of two ways:
Donegal County Council will determine whether RAS is the most appropriate option to meet an approved applicant’s accommodation need. In this regard, the availability of suitable Council-owned/Long-Term Leased property will normally be the first option considered.
Key elements of the scheme include:
Further information is available on the website of the Department of the Housing, Local Government & Heritage.
If you own a property in Donegal which you are interested in making available under RAS, please contact the Council’s Call Centre on 074- 9153900 and you will be connected to the appropriate office depending on where your accommodation is located.
For further information contact: [email protected]