The oversight and management of housing waiting lists, including the allocation and transfer of tenancies, is a matter for the relevant housing authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and associated regulations.
Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 requires all housing authorities, as a reserved function, to make an allocation scheme determining the order of priority to be accorded in the allocation of dwellings to households qualified for social housing support and to households approved for a transfer, the allocation of which would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the accommodation needs and requirements of the households.
Where an AHB tenant was drawn from a local authority social housing waiting list in the first instance, there is no particular legislative provision that prevents that tenant from applying to go onto a local authority transfer list. Requests for housing transfers are considered and determined solely by the relevant local authority concerned in accordance with that authority’s allocation scheme.
Section 22(17) of the 2009 Act provides that the Minister’s power to direct a housing authority regarding the operation of its allocation scheme shall not be construed or operate to enable the Minister to direct the allocation of a dwelling to a particular household. I am, therefore, precluded from intervening in relation to the procedures followed, or decisions made, by housing authorities in the allocation of particular dwellings.
