The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, make regulations to provide that where rent due to a housing authority by a beneficiary is unpaid for a specified period or where the amount of rent unpaid exceeds a specified amount, an amount of the beneficiary's benefit may, notwithstanding any provision of this Act, on application by the housing authority to the Minister, be withheld without the beneficiary's consent and paid separately by the Minister to the housing authority, provided that the amount so withheld in any week shall not exceed the amount of the weekly rent payable by the beneficiary.