Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 February 2021
296. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the last national conditions survey of local authority social housing stock took place; the findings of the survey; the action taken since to address the findings of the survey; and when the next survey is due. [5684/21]
View answerThe management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, responsive repairs and implementing planned maintenance programmes, is a matter for each individual local authority, in line with Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966.
My Department requested local authorities to prepare an audit of their social housing stock in February 2011. This primarily involved a desktop exercise based on the information available in local authorities. Though the desktop survey work was limited it did indicate that substantial investment in the local authority housing stock was required Such investment is being made on an annual basis by my Department under the Energy Efficiency, Voids, Disabled Persons Grants, Regeneration and Remedial Works Schemes.
My Department is determined to ensure that future improvement works are driven by strategic and targeted work programmes informed by stock condition surveys and therefore have been working with the local authority sector, through the City and County Management Association, to drive a planned maintenance approach to the maintenance of local authority housing stock. This will see circa 140,000 local authority social housing properties surveyed over a 4/5 year period, commencing in late 2021. These stock condition surveys will inform future work programmes, funding requirements and allocations.
