Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 October 2023
254. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of properties that have been purchased by councils under the tenant-in-situ scheme since it was introduced, by council, in tabular form. [43410/23]
View answer262. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if local authorities are experiencing delays in housing acquisitions from members of the public. [43559/23]
View answer263. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the percentage of housing acquisitions by local authorities that go beyond 12 weeks during the conveyancing process. [43560/23]
View answer264. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of social housing tenant-in-situ purchases that have been completed broken down, by local authority for 2022 and to date in 2023, in tabular form. [43563/23]
View answer282. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a tenant-in-situ application, whereby a couple qualifies for the scheme, but it is not the landlord’s intention to sell the house but rather to take up occupancy themselves, can still be processed; and if an applicant can access the help-to-buy scheme and the first-home scheme in respect of the same property. [43761/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 254, 262, 263, 264 and 282 together.
Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs).For 2023, the Government has agreed that there will be increased provision for social housing acquisitions and my Department will fund local authorities to acquire at least 1,500 social homes. The additional acquisitions will be focused on properties where a tenant in receipt of social housing supports has received a Notice of Termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property. My Department issued a circular letter to all local authorities in March, setting out details of these arrangements and each local authority was provided with a provisional target for social housing acquisitions in 2023. Local authorities have delegated sanction in relation to these acquisitions, subject to those acquisitions being within Acquisition Cost Guidelines issued by the Department.It is a matter for individual local authorities to identify suitable acquisitions in line with local circumstances and their social housing allocations policy. Landlords may issue a valid Notice of Termination in instances where the landlord needs the property for their own use. In such cases the property will not be available for sale to the local authority. Local authorities will work with all social housing supported tenants who receive a Notice of Termination and where it is not possible to purchase the property, the local authority will seek alternative supports, which may include support to obtain an alternative tenancy, including a HAP-supported tenancy or an allocation to local authority stock where possible. Details of social housing acquisitions are published as part of the comprehensive programme level statistics published by my Department on a quarterly basis. From 2023, this data includes a breakdown of acquisitions completed by each local authority where a Notice of Termination issued to a tenant and is available, for all local authorities, to the end of Quarter 2 2023 on the statistics page of my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/.
The time required to complete a social housing acquisition, including the time involved in the completion of conveyancing, can vary, depending on the circumstances involved. My Department does not collect data on the length of time involved for conveyancing on each acquisition.
