Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 February 2024
278. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide clarification on the significant delays experienced by certain tenants in the processing of their tenant-in-situ applications in Fingal (details supplied); the reasons for these delays; and if he can provide an update on when a person can expect a decision on their case. [8982/24]
View answer279. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on a case previously highlighted (details supplied), where a tenant is facing homelessness due to significant delays in the processing of their tenant-in-situ application; if he can outline a proposed intervention due to the delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8983/24]
View answer280. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the communication he has had with Fingal County Council with regard to the long processing delays with the tenant-in-situ scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8984/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 278 to 280, inclusive, 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).
Social Housing is delivered through a range of local authority and Approved Housing Body (AHB) delivery programmes across the build acquisition and lease delivery streams.
For 2023, the Government agreed that there would be increased provision for social housing acquisitions and my Department provided funding local authorities to acquire at least 1,500 social homes. The additional acquisitions have focused on properties where a tenant is 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 in March 2023, setting out details of these arrangements and each local authority was provided with a provisional allocation for social housing acquisitions in 2023. For 2024, Government has again agreed to an increased provision to acquire 1,500 social homes.
Local authorities have delegated sanction in relation to these acquisitions, subject to those acquisitions being within Acquisition Cost Guidelines issued by the Department. An independent valuation must also be obtained for each acquisition, in line with established practice for local authorities for social housing acquisitions. The current Acquisition Cost Guidelines (ACGs) were updated and issued to local authorities in April 2023. These guidelines are reviewed and updated as appropriate by my Department usually on an annual basis.
Local authorities will work with all social housing supported tenants who receive a Notice of Termination and offer the available supports, which may include a tenant in situ acquisition or support to obtain an alternative tenancy, including a HAP-supported tenancy or an allocation to local authority stock.
In response to the detail supplied in the Question, it is a matter for individual local authorities to identify suitable acquisitions in line with local circumstances and their social housing allocations policy. The time required to complete a social housing acquisition can vary, depending on the circumstances involved. Individual property purchases can be delayed for various reasons such as the owner not having full legal title, various planning issues, outstanding property taxes, general contractual conditions of sale not in place etc. The process is also reliant on timely progress from the vendor’s legal and sales agents, so timeframes vary from purchase to purchase. My Department does not hold data on the number of social housing acquisitions applications that have been withdrawn or rejected, nor does it hold data on the timelines for such acquisitions. Further information may be available from individual local authorities.
My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority, including completed acquisitions. From 2023, this data includes a breakdown of acquisitions completed by each local authority where a Notice of Termination issued to a tenant and is available, for all local authorities, to the end of Quarter 3 2023 on the statistics page of my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/
