Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 July 2021
144. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the information provided by local authorities using the choice-based letting system to his Department on the performance of the system in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38557/21]
View answerChoice 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.
The Social Housing Allocation (Amendment) Regulations 2016 required all local authorities, if they had not already done so, to provide for CBL as a method of allocation for social housing in their allocation schemes by the end of 2016. The way in which CBL is implemented, including decisions on which properties are to be offered through it, is a matter for the individual authority concerned. However, it must be done in accordance with the relevant regulations and their allocation scheme.
In relation to the question posed by the Deputy regarding information provided by local authorities on the performance of CBL in tabular form, information of this exact type is not held by my Department. However, given the clear benefits offered by CBL, my Department continues to liaise with the local authorities to ensure that it is implemented as widely as possible across the country and has undertaken a number of surveys in recent years to determine its uptake and impact. Data garnered through these surveys has shown that over half of all local authorities are operating a CBL system. Of those authorities that are operating CBL, the expressed view is that it is having a positive effect on how they allocate houses. The data also shows that where CBL is in operation the rate of refusals has dropped.
