Housing authorities have substantial powers under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2014 to manage their housing stock, including countering anti-social behaviour, including the power to seek a court order excluding a person engaged in anti-social behaviour from entering a local authority dwelling or estate for a period of up to 3 years. A housing authority is also empowered to refuse to allocate, or to refuse to sell, a dwelling to such a person. At the policy level, every housing authority has a statutory duty to adopt and review an anti-social behaviour strategy for the prevention and reduction of anti-social behaviour in its housing stock, which must provide for co-operation with other relevant bodies, notably An Garda Síochána.
The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014 currently progressing through the Oireachtas includes a revised procedure to replace section 62 of the Housing Act 1966, enabling housing authorities to recover possession of their dwellings from households in serious breach of their tenancy agreements, including because of engaging in anti-social behaviour. This will bring legislation in this regard into line with the European Convention on Human Rights Act, and in that context provide a fairer and more transparent procedure in respect of possessions providing appropriate safeguards for tenants, that were not there previously, where there is a dispute as to the facts of the case. The Bill also includes provisions that will strengthen the powers of housing authorities in relation to excluding orders and in this regard will extend the current prohibition to cover a specified place or area where there is at least one local authority house.
I anticipate that the Bill will be enacted by the summer recess and believe that the provisions will allow for an improved mechanism that will serve the interests of both tenants and local authorities, while meeting the highest standards of the human and civil rights of all concerned.
