Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 December 2015
201. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to withdraw the new regulations on the repossession of local authority houses that are abandoned, given the difficulties this is causing. [44253/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 15 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 provides for a mechanism whereby a housing authority may terminate a tenancy and take possession of a house where it is satisfied that the house had been abandoned by the tenant. Section 16 of the Act makes provisions for an application to court in respect of a tenancy terminated under section 15, by a person who was a tenant immediately before the termination of a tenancy, where he or she considers that the housing authority failed to comply with the provisions of section 15, or did not have reasonable grounds for finding that the dwelling was unoccupied by the applicant’s household or that the applicant’s household did not intend to occupy the dwelling as its normal place of residence.
The implementation of these provisions, which came into operation on 3 April 2015, is a matter for local authorities. However, my Department, in consultation with local authorities, is keeping the overall operation of the legislation under on-going review.
