Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 May 2023
221. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the arrangements in place to ensure cross-local authority tenant-in-situ purchases proceed; and if a circular or guidance note has been issued to local authorities on this issue. [20491/23]
View answer232. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if local authorities were required to submit an acquisition plan to his Department before the lifting of the eviction ban on 1 April 2023; if so, if he has received the acquisition plans from each local authority; and if they will be published. [20651/23]
View answer235. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the total number of tenant-in-situ purchases by local authorities since the scheme reopened in 2022, with a breakdown by local authority, in tabular form. [20713/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 221, 232 and 235 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. 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 There was no requirement for local authorities to submit an acquisition plan to my Department.
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. I understand that the CCMA has prepared guidance for the sector to support the prevention of homelessness and co-ordinate on tenant-in-situ acquisitions across boundaries, where required and where possible for the period of the current Tenant in Situ acquisitions. My Department has not yet issued a circular or guidance on this matter but is liaising closely with local authorities (as part its ongoing engagement with the Cross-Sectoral Steering Group on Acquisitions) to identify those elements of the current process, if any, which are proving challenging and which would benefit from further guidance from the Department, before finalising a circular on the matter.
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.
