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Housing Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 September 2020

Tuesday, 22 September 2020

Questions (364, 365)

Patricia Ryan

Question:

364. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the suspension period from the housing list will be reduced from one year to six months to those that refuse an offer of a council house; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25585/20]

View answer

Patricia Ryan

Question:

365. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a list of reasonable grounds will be published for a person can refuse a council house to prevent them from being suspended from the housing list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25586/20]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 364 and 365 together.

The current position in relation to the refusal by households of offers of social housing dwellings is set down in Regulation 12 of the Social Housing Allocation Regulations 2011, made under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.

Under Regulation 12, a household that refuses two reasonable offers of such tenancies in any twelve-month period, other than an offer made under the Choice Based Letting (CBL) procedure, will not receive any further offers from any local authority for a period of one year from the date of the second refusal. An offer is deemed to be reasonable where the dwelling concerned would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the housing needs of the household and, except in an emergency, is located in an area of choice specified by the household. There are no plans at this time to reduce the suspension period.

My Department regularly engages with the local authority sector on this and other social housing policy matters. The refusal of offers can have a serious impact on the administrative process in local authorities and can prolong the period for re-letting of homes, lead to a loss of revenue through non-rental and is ultimately an inefficient use of the social housing stock, as well as local authority resources.

Choice Based Letting (CBL) is a method whereby available social housing stock is let by being openly advertised by local authorities to persons on the social housing waiting list. This allows qualified applicants to 'register an interest' in available homes. Applicants can act on their own initiative to respond to adverts and express an interest in dwellings that they would like to live in, rather than waiting for an authority to offer them a dwelling. This approach offers more choice and involvement for applicant households in selecting a new home, thereby reducing the likelihood of a refusal, and helping to build sustainable tenancies and stable communities.

While many housing authorities have adopted CBL, it is not yet in operation across all local authorities. The Programme for Government commits to developing a website to allow for Choice Based Letting (CBL) on a nationwide basis and my Department will work with the Local Government Management Association and the County and City Managers Association to progress this.

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