Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2020
395. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if consideration will be given to facilitating dialogue between local authorities in Dublin regarding the possibility of an intercounty housing transfer system for tenants wishing to seek a housing transfer from one Dublin local authority to another; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26931/20]
View answerThe oversight and management of housing waiting lists, including the allocation and transfer of tenancies, is a matter for the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and associated regulations.
Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, requires all local authorities, as a reserved function, 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.
Generally, a household may apply for support to one local authority only, which may be the authority for the area in which the household normally resides or with which it has a local connection, or that the authority agrees, at its discretion, to assess the household for support.
However, in Dublin, a household meeting either the residence or local connection condition may specify up to three areas of choice for receipt of support in the areas of all local authorities in the county and city concerned and, if qualified, will be entered on the housing waiting list of each of those local authorities. Accordingly, under existing arrangements, a household that applies, for example, to Dublin City Council can, if qualified for support and should they choose to do so, be entered on the waiting list of three of the four local authorities in Dublin city and county.
All four Dublin authorities have provisions in their allocation schemes for inter authority/mutual transfers for sitting tenants whereby the authority is prepared to accommodate applications for inter authority/mutual transfers provided certain criteria are met. All four Dublin authorities also make provision in their allocation schemes for households wishing to move to a home more suitable to their household needs. However, decisions on all applications are entirely a matter for the local authority concerned.
Recipients of the Housing Assistance Payment can also move between local authorities in Dublin. Guidelines on inter-authority movement were introduced in 2017 to allow for local authorities to facilitate movement of HAP households from one local authority area to another in cases where a HAP tenant, currently on a local authority waiting list, wishes to access rented accommodation with HAP support in another local authority area.
