Frequently Asked Questions

If you are not yet on Dublin City Council’s housing list, you will need to apply for social housing support.  Please click here https://www.dublincity.ie/residential/housing/i-am-looking-home/i-want-… for details on how to apply. If you are already on the housing list you can ask for a HAP application form by contacting our Housing Allocations Section on

Tel: 01-222 2201 or

 Email: [email protected].

The form only needs to be filled in when you have found suitable accommodation, or if you are already in private rented accommodation and eligible to transfer to HAP. Your landlord will need to complete and sign part of the HAP application form.

If you are on Dublin City Council’s housing list completed application forms and documentation must be emailed to [email protected] or posted to HAP Section, Block 2 Floor 2, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8, D08 RF3F. 

Your landlord is required to complete and sign part of the HAP application form and submit documents.

To ensure your application is approved and processed without delay please ensure that all documents submitted are correct - Please refer to the HAP Application Checklists on your HAP application forms for further information.

Incomplete application forms will not be processed until the correct documents are received from both tenant and landlord.  Delays in submitting documentation will affect the start date of your HAP payment.

Under HAP legislation, limits for HAP payments are based on the number of people in a household and the rental market in the area. Local authorities have limited additional flexibility to exceed the maximum rent limits by up to 20%, on a case-by-case basis.

Please see below current maximum HAP rent limits for Dublin City

Where the monthly rent agreed with your landlord exceeds the maximum rent limit payable by Dublin City Council on your behalf, you will be required to pay the difference directly to your landlord. Please note that your means to pay the additional rent will be assessed.  Only top ups approved by Dublin City Council must be paid by tenants. 

Your rent contribution is based on your household income. It is calculated in the same way as the rent paid by a tenant of Dublin City Council under the Differential Rent Scheme.

A two year tenancy is preferable. Your tenancy will be covered under the terms of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (RTA) (as amended). This means that the tenancy agreement is, or will be, between you and your landlord (Dublin City Council is not a party to the tenancy). You can find further information about your rights and responsibilities as a tenant on the RTB website www.rtb.ie

If a tenant wishes to end a residential tenancy where there is a valid lease, this will only be facilitated/approved in exceptional circumstances.  A written request outlining the reason for the need to move must be emailed to [email protected] prior to moving.  Tenants are not permitted to move property without prior approval from Dublin City Council.  

When you become a HAP tenant your housing need has been met and you will move from the social housing waiting list to the transfer waiting list. Your time to date on the social housing waiting list is not lost.  It will move to the transfer list and continue to build while you are on HAP.   

Yes. Any HAP tenant who wants to access other social housing supports can do so through the social housing transfer waiting list operated by Dublin City Council. Once in receipt of HAP, you can apply to transfer from HAP to other forms of social housing support, such as local authority housing.  As a HAP tenant, your right to receive offers of social housing as they come up in your area of choice is not affected.

Where eligible applicants for HAP have found suitable accommodation in another local authority area an application can be considered under the Inter-Authority movement initiative.  Applications are subject to certain qualification criteria.  For further information please contact the Dublin City Council HAP team.

Dublin City Council does not process rent contribution payments.  All payments are managed by the HAP Shared Services Centre in Limerick City & County Council.

Following approval of your HAP application, your weekly HAP rent contribution will be deducted through;

• An Post (Household Budget Deduction)
• Bank Standing Order 

If your rent fails to be automatically deducted or you wish to pay an amount off arrears on your account you must pay rent using one of the following methods:

1. Online at https://payments.limerick.ie/hap (Pin No & HAP Recipient ID required)
2. Phoning 061-556600 (Pin No & HAP Recipient ID Required)
3. HAP Bill Pay Card (issued within 10 days of start day) in any Post Office or any shop displaying the sign to pay your weekly rent. Your local PostPoint shop can be located on https://www.anpost.com/Commerce/Retailer-Services/Postpoint-Services  )

If you are in receipt of a HAP payment you must immediately email copies of income details i.e. P60s, payslips, Department of Social Protection payslips, etc., for all people in your home to [email protected]. 

If you are in receipt of a HAP payment you must contact the HAP team at [email protected] prior to any new person moving into your home or if a person in your home moves out.

Dublin City Council does not process rent contribution payments.  All payments are managed by the HAP Shared Services Centre in Limerick City & County Council.

You must contact the HAP Shared Services Centre to make an arrangement to pay off any arrears over an agreed period.

Tel:  061 556600

Email: [email protected]

For further advice on managing money and debt, contact the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) at www.mabs.ie or 1890 283 438.