Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
559. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide a breakdown of the number of tenant-in-situ purchases by each Dublin local authority for 2022 and to date in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35621/23]
View answer612. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on the number of applications received per county for the tenant-in-situ scheme; the number of properties completed through the process; the number of properties progressing through the process; the number of properties rejected; if he will respond, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36369/23]
View answer627. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will instruct Fingal County Council to take steps to buy all or some of the 47 properties (details supplied) where families and children face eviction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36454/23]
View answer633. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a person can avail of the tenant-in-situ scheme if one’s landlord is a family member. [36565/23]
View answer652. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of homes bought under the tenant-in-situ scheme, broken down by local authority, in 2022 and in the first six months of 2023; how much was spent on each home; the size of these homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36954/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 559, 612, 627, 633 and 652 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 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.
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/
Data is currently being collated for Quarter 1 2023 and will include a breakdown of the number of homes purchased by each local authority under the tenant in situ scheme. This data will be published in due course. Data on average costs will be available subsequently, when local authorities have submitted full information in relation to the cost of completed acquisitions.
In relation to the detail supplied, it is a matter for individual local authorities to identify suitable acquisitions in line with local circumstances and their social housing allocations policy. It is a matter for a local authority to determine whether a property should be acquired. The cost of the property, its condition and its suitability for the existing tenants are issues that will be considered by the local authority. I have asked local authorities to be proactive in this area.
Local authorities will work with all social housing supported tenants who receive a Notice of Termination and where it is not possible to purchase the property, the local authority will seek alternative supports, which will include support to obtain an alternative tenancy, including a HAP-supported tenancy or an allocation to local authority stock where possible.
Section 63(3) of the Local Government Act 2001 provides that, subject to law, a local authority is independent in the performance of its functions. As Minister, I am precluded by housing legislation from intervening in relation to the procedures followed, or decisions made, by local authorities in the provision of social housing support regarding any individual application.
