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Housing Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 January 2022

Wednesday, 26 January 2022

Questions (74, 75)

Ruairí Ó Murchú

Question:

74. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the annual cost of all long-term leased social housing by local authority in 2021; the number of long-term leases owned by each local authority; and the number of long-term leased social houses purchased by each local authority in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [3789/22]

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Ruairí Ó Murchú

Question:

75. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the annual amount spent on maintenance of all long-term leases by each local authority in 2021; and the ownership of the units at the end of the lease term. [3790/22]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 and 75 together.

The Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme supports the delivery of social housing by providing financial support to local authorities for the leasing of houses and apartments. Dwellings under the scheme come from a number of different sources including private owners, Part V and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs).

Long term lease arrangements, including the enhanced lease, of privately owned dwellings can be entered into by either local authorities or AHBs. Under these arrangements the local authority or AHB acts as the landlord to the tenant. The terms of these agreements are set out in standard template agreements provided by my Department which must be used by all local authorities and AHBs. Agreements may be entered into for periods of between 10 to 25 years in duration.

Under the long term leasing arrangement, the dwelling can be sold by the owner during the lease term, subject to the leasehold interest and the consent of the local authority or AHB. As such, the owner of the property changes but the lease, and the tenant, are unaffected. There is no current option to purchase the property under the long term lease or enhanced lease arrangements; however, an option to purchase may have been included in some long term leases by local authorities in the early stages of the leasing programme.

It is a matter for each local authority to identify appropriate units for acquisition in line with the criteria set out in Circular 02/2022 Social Housing Acquisitions, which was issued in January 2022. My Department does not record details of social housing acquisitions that may have been previously covered by a lease agreement.

Details of the number of homes delivered under the Social Housing Leasing Programme from 2020 and up to the end of Q3 2021, broken down by local authority, can be found on my Department's website at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/?referrer=http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision#leasing

Leasing delivery data for Q4 2021 is being collated at present and will be published as soon as that process is finalised.

A breakdown by local authority of the total spend on long-term leasing in 2021 to the end of Q3 can be found in Table 1 below:

Table 1: Total Long-term Leasing Spend – End Q3 2021

Local Authority

Spend

Carlow County Council

€293,734.00

Cavan County Council

€89,082.00

Clare County Council

€846,784.00

Cork City Council

€876,615.00

Cork County Council

€252,688.00

DLR County Council

€1,350,900.00

Donegal County Council

€964,313.00

Dublin City Council

€3,384,367.00

Fingal County Council

€2,641,550.00

Galway City Council

€26,741.00

Galway County Council

€390,501.00

Kerry County Council

€773,744.00

Kildare County Council

€1,335,992.00

Kilkenny County Council

€134,463.00

Laois County Council

€387,285.00

Leitrim County Council

€0.00

Limerick City & County Council

€948,646.00

Longford County Council

€25,250.00

Louth County Council

€1,725,434.00

Mayo County Council

€15,817.00

Meath County Council

€666,656.00

Monaghan County Council

€0.00

Offaly County Council

€10,980.00

Roscommon County Council

€17,749.00

Sligo County Council

€261,760.00

South Dublin County Council

€3,641,597.00

Tipperary County Council

€598,077.00

Waterford City & County Council

€618,649.00

Westmeath County Council

€133,699.00

Wexford County Council

€688,483.00

Wicklow County Council

€133,582.00

Total

€23,235,138.00

The figures provided in Table 1 above covers spend in respect of Long-term Local Authority Leasing, AHB Private Leasing and the Enhanced Leasing Scheme.

Under Long Term Leasing arrangements; internal maintenance and repairs of social housing leased properties are the responsibility of the local authority or AHB entering into the lease, while structural maintenance of the property remains the responsibility of the property owner over the life of the lease agreement. Local authorities recoup the cost of lease payments from the Department, but do not claim any additional costs in relation to maintenance. As maintenance costs are borne by the local authority or AHB, details of the annual costs associated with long-term leased social housing units are not held by my Department.

Under Enhanced Leasing arrangements; the maintenance of social housing leased properties is the responsibility of the lessor.

Question No. 75 answered with Question No. 74.
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