Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 May 2016
307. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of the 2,000 properties transferred to social housing from the National Asset Management Agency or from National Asset Management Agency debtors that have been tenanted, as of 1 April 2016. [9039/16]
View answerSince December 2011, my Department together with the Housing Agency, local authorities, and approved housing bodies have been working with the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) in order to facilitate the provision of residential properties for social housing use. The properties under consideration are part of the security for loans that NAMA has acquired. In the majority of cases, properties remain in the ownership of the original borrowers. The remaining properties are controlled by receivers appointed by NAMA. To the end of March 2016, 2,042 of these units have been secured for social housing providers. This figure includes 1,469 units that are complete and a further 573 units where contracts have been signed and final completion works are under way in order to bring the units to a habitable standard. A further 163 properties are considered as being active transactions whereby terms are agreed or active negotiation is on-going by all parties concerned or where a detailed appraisal is being carried out. An additional 335 properties are to be further appraised.
While the allocation of properties to social housing tenants is a matter for each individual local authority, from the information available to my Department, I am confident that the majority of the 1,469 units that are complete are currently occupied. In some cases delays may occur because additional works or adaptations may be required to units, for example in cases where the units are to be tenanted by someone with a physical disability.
Information on the NAMA social housing programme is available on the website of the Housing Agency at www.housing.ie/NAMA.
