Written Answers Nos. 156-164
156. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of housing assistance payment, HAP, tenancies currently in operation in each county; the number of those tenancies paying a top up to the landlord; the average of such top up per county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6213/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraData relating to the number of households supported by HAP within each local authority area at end of Q4 2016 are available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision.
Under the HAP scheme, a tenant sources their own accommodation, the tenancy agreement is between the tenant and the landlord and is covered by the Residential Tenancy Act 2004 (as amended). Recognising the pressures in the rental market, the Government increased the maximum rent limits available under the HAP scheme across the country with effect from 1 July 2016. Furthermore, additional flexibility above the existing HAP rent limits was made available to all HAP local authorities from the same date.
My Department is aware that some HAP recipients are making payments directly to their landlords, beyond the amount of HAP being paid on their behalf. While my Department does monitor such trends, the data requested by the Deputy is not available. Ultimately, the level of support made available to individual households is a matter for the local authority concerned. The increased flexibility provided to local authorities offers them, as housing authorities, more capacity to assist households in securing rented accommodation that meets their needs. Since the introduction of the increased HAP rent limits in July 2016 more than 2,500 pre-existing HAP households have received an increase in their level of support.
My Department continues to keep the operation of the scheme under review. In general, I am satisfied with the operation of HAP scheme and I consider it to be a key vehicle for meeting housing need and fulfilling the ambitious programme under the Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness.
157. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the protection measures in place for housing assistance payment, HAP, tenants should a landlord end their tenancy along the lines of the previous RAS scheme where local authorities were responsible to re-house tenants should a RAS landlord exit the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6214/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraA key principle of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is that eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector, which best suits their needs in their area of choice. This is distinct from the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) which is a different type of social housing support where the tenant may not always find their own accommodation and instead are allocated a dwelling in accordance with Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. Similarly, the local authority is not party to the tenancy agreement underpinning a HAP arrangement, but is a party to the three-part contract underpinning a RAS arrangement.
A HAP tenancy arrangement is governed by the terms of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended) and is afforded the same protections available to all private rental tenancies, which were recently enhanced. The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Act to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants.
There are more than 17,000 households supported by HAP currently and the scheme is working well for the households who are benefitting from the security of the long-term housing support that it offers.
158. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the measures he is putting in place with local authorities to begin homelessness prevention with families when a valid notice to quit has been received giving the family the requisite notice for the end of a tenancy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6215/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities.
Where a tenant finds that their tenancy is coming to an end and they are entitled to social housing support, they should contact their housing authority in order to access the supports available to them. Should the tenant wish to try to sustain their existing tenancy, there are tenancy sustainment initiatives in place. These include: the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework operated by the Department of Social Protection for Rent Supplement clients; the Tenancy Sustainment Protocol operated by Threshold in conjunction with the relevant housing authority and the Department of Social Protection; and the Family Support Service operated by Focus Ireland, which has tenancy sustainment as its specific aim.
159. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans for homeless families after July 2017 when the practice of accommodating them in commercial hotels will be ended; the places they will be accommodated; if the 783 families and 2,505 children will be permanently housed by that deadline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6217/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraRebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness provides for early and longer-term solutions to address the high levels of homelessness, especially the unacceptable number of families in emergency accommodation in hotels. The plan's commitments are that, by mid-2017, hotels should only be used in limited circumstances as emergency accommodation for families. Full details and timeframes in relation to the range of actions to address family homelessness are set out in Rebuilding Ireland, which is available on the www.rebuildingireland.ie website.
The increases in Rent Supplement and Housing Assistance Payment levels from 1 July 2016 is playing an important role in the achievement of this overall objective, in terms of supporting families to remain in rented accommodation. However, where families do find themselves in homelessness situations, there are a range of solutions in place and bring progressed. These include the Housing Agency programme to acquire 1,600 units and the expanded HAP Homeless Pilot Scheme in Dublin, where some 800 homeless HAP tenancies were entered into by end-2016 and a further 1,200 tenancies are targeted for 2017 across the Dublin Region. A rapid-build programme is also in place, with over 350 rapid-build homes advancing at end-2016. My Department engages with the Dublin Region local authorities on a regular and ongoing basis in relation to the delivery of these and other relevant initiatives.
160. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will allow regeneration zones to accept housing assistance payment, HAP, tenancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6218/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, one of the key functions of housing authorities is to provide or manage the provision of social housing support in a way that counteracts undue segregation between persons of different social backgrounds and ensures the provision of an appropriate mix of dwelling types and tenure classes.
Once a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it is a matter for the local authority to examine the suite of social housing supports available, including the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, to determine the most appropriate form of social housing support for that household in the administrative area of that local authority.
The operation of the HAP scheme is underpinned by Part 4 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. Under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, one of the key principles is that eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector, which best suits their needs in their area of choice. Part 4 of the 2014 Act sets out restrictions (not in operation at present) on paying housing assistance in regeneration areas and areas where there is a need to counteract undue social segregation. My Department is currently examining this provision.
My Department continues to keep the operation of the HAP scheme under review. In general, I am satisfied with the operation of HAP scheme and I consider it to be a key vehicle for meeting housing need and fulfilling the ambitious programme under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness.
161. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if consideration is being given to introducing compulsory leasing orders for appropriate vacant properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6221/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe use of Compulsory Leasing Orders as a possible means of re-utilising vacant properties was proposed at a presentation to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government last week by the Peter McVerry Trust in the context of discussions on addressing the issue of vacant housing, derelict sites and underused spaces. The Trust indicated that it supported the use of such Orders, where ownership of vacant properties would not change but local authorities would be empowered to take over the management of a property for a specified period and under certain strict criteria for the common good, including the provision of social housing. Under the proposal, the property owner would receive rent for the period of the Order, minus the costs of upgrading and managing the building.
As the Deputy is aware, Pillar 5 of the Government’s Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness – Rebuilding Ireland is specifically focused on Utilising Existing Housing Stock, with a key objective of ensuring that the existing vacant housing stock throughout the country and across all forms of tenure, in both the public and private sectors, is used to the optimum degree possible. In this regard, Action 5.1 of Rebuilding Ireland commits to developing a National Vacant Housing Re-Use Strategy by the first quarter of 2017, informed by Census 2016 data, to
- inform the compilation of a register of vacant units across the country,
- identify the number, location and reasons for longer-term vacancies (i.e. over 6 months) in high demand areas, and
- set out a range of actions to bring vacant units back into reuse.
The Housing Agency, which has lead responsibility for co-ordinating the development of the Strategy, established a working group in September 2016 comprising senior representatives from my Department, local authorities, the Irish Council for Social Housing and from the Housing Agency itself to inform the Strategy. The proposal to use Compulsory Leasing Orders as possible means of re-utilising vacant properties will be considered by the Working Group in the context of finalising the Strategy.
162. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the progress that has been made on a vacant property register; the work his Department is progressing with regard to vacant properties, including those vacant due to the fair deal scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6222/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraPillar 5 of the Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness - Rebuilding Ireland is specifically focused on Utilising Existing Housing Stock, with a key objective of ensuring that the existing vacant housing stock throughout the country and across all forms of tenure, in both the public and private sectors, is used to the optimum degree possible. In this regard, Action 5.1 of Rebuilding Ireland commits to the development of a National Vacant Housing Re-Use Strategy by the first quarter of 2017, informed by Census 2016 data, to
- inform the compilation of a register of vacant units across the country,
- identify the number, location and reasons for longer-term vacancies (i.e. over 6 months) in high demand areas, and
- set out a range of actions to bring vacant units back into reuse
To this end, the Housing Agency, which has lead responsibility for co-ordinating the development of the Strategy, has established a working group, comprising senior representatives from my Department, local authorities and from the Housing Agency itself to inform the Strategy.
In addition, Action 17 of the Strategy for the Rental Sector commits my Department to examining 'the treatment under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (NHSS) financial assessment of income from the rental of a person’s principal private residence where they move into long-term residential care'. My Department has been in contact with the Department of Health in the context of implementation of the review of the NHSS and is considering whether potential options can be put forward to adjust the treatment of rental income from properties in the Fair Deal scheme in order to make their letting a more attractive option, rather than leaving them empty.
With regard to the establishment of registers of vacant sites, the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015, enacted in July 2015, introduced the vacant site levy, which is aimed at incentivising the development of vacant, under-utilised sites in urban areas. Under the Act, planning authorities are required to establish a vacant site register in their areas, beginning on 1 January 2017, and to issue annual notices to owners of vacant sites by 1 June 2018 in respect of vacant sites on the register on 1 January 2018. The levy will be applied by planning authorities, commencing on 1 January 2019, in respect of sites which were vacant and on the vacant site register during the year 2018 and will subsequently be applied on an annual basis thereafter, as long as a site remains on the vacant site register in the preceding year.
Planning authorities are presently engaging in the necessary preparatory work prior to the application of the levy, commencing with the establishment of their local vacant site registers and the identification of sites for possible inclusion in their registers.
163. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will report on the turnaround of Dublin local authority voids, by local authority, taking into consideration the length of time from when one family moves out and another moves in, excluding and including refurbishments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6225/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraStatistics on the average re-letting times for local authority social housing are gathered by the National Oversight and Audit Commission and are set out by local authority in their report on Performance Indicators in Local Authorities. These statistics are available for both 2014 and 2015 at the following links: http://noac.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/NOAC-Performance-Indicators-Report-2014.pdf and http://noac.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2015-PI-Report.pdf.
The statistics as gathered by the National Oversight and Audit Commission illustrate the average time from date of vacation of a social house to the date when a new tenancy has commenced. This includes the time taken to re-let a house and does not, therefore, separately capture the time from a house being vacated to when necessary repairs are complete.
Feedback from local authorities is that the time taken by them to turn around vacant social houses can vary significantly from property to property, depending on the level of refurbishment required in each individual case. Additionally, the funding that my Department provides to local authorities to remediate certain social housing includes support for the energy retrofitting of the property. While this may add to the work required to remediate a house, it is an important upgrade to the property which brings notable fuel efficiency advantages to the incoming tenant.
It is a matter for individual housing authorities to manage the allocation and re-lettings of dwellings within the terms of their approved Scheme of Letting Priorities. The routine turnaround of vacant social housing stock is carried out under their ongoing maintenance programme. In addition to this activity on routine re-lettings, my Department also supports local authorities to tackle stock that is vacant and in need of remediation to allow it to be re-let.
The current voids programme, supporting local authorities in returning vacant social housing units to productive use, commenced in 2014 and is a target driven and cost effective voids retrofitting programme.
It should be noted that there will always be a level of vacant social houses at any given point in time owing to the fact that the numbers of vacant properties nationally changes on a daily basis due to local authorities having social units handed back and as units are re-let. The number of vacant units will therefore fluctuate constantly, as would be expected in the management of the thousands of homes owned by local authorities, where tenancies change on a regular basis.
The low rates of vacant units of 1-2% reported by some authorities in 2016 is a strong indication that the local authorities, through the additional provision of funding provided by my Department, have substantially addressed the backlog of vacant units that had accumulated pre-2014.
164. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if there are any grant aid programmes currently within his Department or due to come online shortly which provide funding for assisting persons in the refurbishment of buildings in town centres for residential or commercial purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6230/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for a Partnership Government, published in May 2016, sets out the ambitious priority attached to urban regeneration by the Government, incorporating a series of specific actions aimed at facilitating the regeneration of our urban centres, many of which have been adversely impacted by our recent economic difficulties. The Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness – Rebuilding Ireland, published in July 2016, further reinforces the Government's commitment to the area of urban regeneration.
In this context, the Government launched the Town and Village Renewal Scheme last August with an allocation of €10 million in funding for the year. A sum of €380,000 was made available to each of the 26 counties for 2016 under this initial phase of the scheme. Local Authorities, in conjunction with local communities and businesses, were each invited to submit up to eight proposals by the end of September for approval. Following an assessment of the proposals received, my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs announced (on 4 November) details of 172 towns and villages which will benefit from the funding available under this year’s Town and Village Renewal Scheme. The full list of towns benefitting under the scheme is available on the website of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (www.ahrrga.gov.ie). Increased funding of €12 million has been provided in Budget 2017 to enhance this scheme with a view to increasing the attractiveness and sustainability of our towns and villages as places in which to live and work.
The Programme for Government also commits to examining a series of further initiatives, such as:
- the introduction of a similar scheme to the ‘Living City Initiative’ to regenerate urban centres and villages throughout Ireland,
- examining the scope to reform the Derelict Sites Act to tackle the under-use and hoarding of derelict land by the State, semi-State and private sectors,
- the establishment of a National Register of Derelict Sites, in addition to the new vacant site levy, to bring vacant and under-utilised sites into beneficial use for housing and urban regeneration purposes,
- the mandating of local authorities with better land management powers, including the possibility of additional CPO capabilities, and
- various other measures, which were further developed under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, and especially those under Pillar 5 aimed at re-using vacant housing stock and which have already been launched, such as –
- the Repair and Lease Initiative, providing funding to the owners of vacant properties for their refurbishment and subsequent long-term leasing to local authorities for social housing purposes (€140m funding over 5 years),
- the Buy and Renew Initiative, facilitating local authorities to purchase and renew housing units in need of remediation and make them available for social housing use (€25m funding for 2017),
- the purchase by the Housing Agency of vacant buy-to-let properties on the portfolios of financial institutions and investors for social housing use (€70m funding in 2016).
To drive forward these and other considerations, a Working Group, chaired by my colleague, the Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal and comprising senior representatives from my Department, local authorities and other relevant bodies, has been established to bring forward proposals for new urban regeneration measures as early as possible. It is intended that the new measures will complement the existing regeneration programme under my Department's Social Housing Capital Programme, as well as other social regeneration initiatives already under way. Having held its inaugural meeting in mid-June 2016, the Working Group has met on three occasions and is due to meet again in the coming weeks to consider issues and emerging proposals, including the scope for further grant aid and incentive programmes to facilitate urban regeneration generally.
