Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
741. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a tenant with a notice to quit who is looking to avail of the tenant-in-situ scheme, who is living in a HAP property in one council area but is on another council’s housing list and the landlord wants to sell the home to the council; which council should the landlord contact and can the council buy the property; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16763/23]
View answer747. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the process, in cases in which the NTQ period of a person has lapsed but the council is still processing the expression of interest from the landlord to sell the home to the council, if the tenant still has to vacate the property; if so, if the council will cease the process of acquiring the home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16070/23]
View answer762. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of homes which have been purchased through the tenant in situ scheme to date, broken down by local authority, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16838/23]
View answer806. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if councils can approach landlords to sell as part of his plans to expand the tenant-in-situ scheme; and what valuation will be paid on a home. [17388/23]
View answer816. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a copy of the acquisition plans submitted to his Department by each of the local authorities. [17526/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 741, 747, 762, 806 and 816 together.
Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs).
For 2023, the Government has agreed that there will be increased provision for social housing acquisitions and my Department will fund local authorities to acquire up to 1,500 social homes. The additional acquisitions will be focused on properties where a tenant in receipt of social housing supports has received a Notice of Termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property. The issue of a lawful Notice of Termination would not be effected by an expression of interest in the sale of the property by the landlord, nor would the council be required to cease the process of acquiring a home where a Notice of Termination has issued.
My Department issued a circular letter to all local authorities in March, setting out details of these arrangements and each local authority was provided with a provisional allocation for social housing acquisitions in 2023. This allocation will be kept under review. It will be matter for individual local authorities to determine whether a property is suitable for acquisition. Where a household is on the housing list in one local authority but has secured a HAP tenancy in another local authority area, the arrangements in place will support the acquisition of the property, where appropriate. The City and County Management Association (CCMA) has assured me that local authorities are collaborating on such situations and my Department will work closely with local authorities on this measure.
Local authorities have not been requested to provide my Department with specific acquisition plans. Details of social housing acquisitions will be published as part of the comprehensive programme level statistics published by my Department on a quarterly basis. This data is available for all local authorities to the end of Quarter 4 2022 and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/. While data published to date does not include a breakdown of properties acquired where a tenant has received a Notice of Termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property, from Q1 2023 an amendment has been made to my Department's statistical returns to collect information in this regard.
