Skip to main content
Normal View

Housing Policy

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 January 2019

Tuesday, 15 January 2019

Questions (1160, 1204)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Question:

1160. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the precarious position of private tenants who have been given termination notices with regards to sourcing local authority homes; and his plans to address the uncertainty faced by renters in this predicament by establishing a preventative homeless scheme with adequate resources. [1186/19]

View answer

Bernard Durkan

Question:

1204. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the extent to which a specific plan can be put into operation with a view to urgently addressing the homeless situation with particular reference to families that have been on the list in some cases for several years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1741/19]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1160 and 1204 together.

Rebuilding Ireland, the Government’s Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness, is designed to increase the delivery of housing across all tenures to help individuals and families meet their housing need and to help those who are currently housed to remain in their homes or to be provided with alternative options of emergency accommodation. The plan focuses on increasing the delivery of social housing, with a target of delivering 50,000 social housing homes in the period to 2021, while also making the best use of existing stock and laying the foundations for a more vibrant housing sector.

Households experiencing homelessness are supported by the local authorities and their service delivery partners to exit homelessness into an independent tenancy, whether it be in a local authority property or a HAP supported tenancy in the private rental sector. In 2018, the HAP Placefinder service was made available to all local authorities to support households to identify and secure a tenancy.

The allocation of social housing support is a matter for the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated regulations. Section 22 of the 2009 Act requires all local authorities to make an allocation scheme determining the order of priority to be accorded in the allocation of dwellings to households qualified for social housing support and to households approved for a transfer, the allocation of which would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the accommodation needs and requirements of the households.

To strengthen further the rights of tenants in the private rented sector, building on initiatives already taken, I published the Residential Tenancies (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2018 in December 2018. Among the key provisions of the Bill are measures to empower the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) to investigate and sanction landlords who engage in improper conduct including non-compliance with rent increase restrictions in Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs); the creation of criminal offences for landlords connected with non-compliance with rent increase restrictions in RPZs; and increasing notice periods for tenancy terminations by landlords.

Top
Share