Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 July 2023
90. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he can detail the number of purchases of properties by local authorities and approved housing bodies under the tenant-in-situ scheme to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33068/23]
View answer97. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the roll-out of the tenant-in-situ scheme; if local authorities have resourced additional staff to manage the workload involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32203/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 90 and 97 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 at least 1,500 social homes. The additional acquisitions will be focused on properties where a tenant in receipt of social housing supports and 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 target for social housing acquisitions in 2023 and these allocations are being kept under review.
Housing for All includes a commitment to strengthen the capacity of local authorities to initiate, design, plan, develop and manage housing projects. In December 2021 I approved an additional 250 housing posts in local authorities nationally to support social housing delivery. In recognition of the administrative work involved in acquisitions where a tenant has received a Notice of Termination, my Department is providing local authorities with a payment of €1,200 in respect of each acquisition.
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. This data is currently being collated and will be published in due course.
