Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 April 2023
314. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to set out how the cost rental tenant situ scheme will work; the person or body that landlords/tenants should approach if they are interested in applying for the scheme; the eligibility criteria; and if he intends to publish a regular report on the purchases through this scheme. [19056/23]
View answerI recently introduced the Cost Rental Tenant In-Situ (CRTiS) Scheme, as an interim measure developed on an administrative basis, which is intended to address the immediate circumstances of the ending of the 'Winter Emergency Period' on 31 March 2023. This temporary scheme is available where a tenant faces the valid termination of a tenancy due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property. The scheme is available if the tenant household:
• does not intend to purchase the property from the landlord,
• does not own other residential property,
• is assessed by the Local Authority to be at risk of homelessness,
• is not in receipt of social housing supports (i.e. the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) or the Residential Accommodation Scheme (RAS)), and
• has an annual net household income of no more than €53,000.
Local Authority Housing Officers have responsibility for assessing the risk of homelessness to tenants who have received a valid notification of termination due to an intended sale of a property, and so it is the Local Authority that tenants should first approach.
If the Local Authority is satisfied that the applicant tenant household is eligible for CRTiS they will pass the details of the tenant and the property to the Housing Agency for consideration for potential acquisition. The Housing Agency will then engage with the tenant and the landlord with a view to acquiring the property. The Housing Agency will partner with an independent third party, potentially an Affordable Housing Body (AHB), to manage and maintain the homes.
Rents are set at the current rate paid by the tenant to the previous landlord. It is the longer-term intention of the scheme, however, to transition these tenancies and homes to the standard framework for Cost Rental, where rents are set at a level to meet the costs of acquiring, managing, and maintaining the home. It is for this reason that the CRTiS eligibility criteria align with those in the standard Cost Rental framework.
It is intended that the Housing Agency will collate information on purchases through this scheme, which will be gathered by my Department for review.
