Repair and Leasing Scheme

Thursday, 12 December 2019

Ceisteanna (368, 369)

Pat Deering

Ceist:

368. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the cost of the repair and leasing scheme in 2018; and the expected cost in 2019 and 2020. [52495/19]

Amharc ar fhreagra

369. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the estimated cost of extending the repair and leasing scheme to properties for long-term private rent. [52496/19]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government

I propose to take Questions Nos. 368 and 369 together.

The Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) was developed to assist private property owners and local authorities or approved housing bodies (AHBs) to harness the accommodation potential that exists in certain vacant dwellings across Ireland. RLS has both capital and current funding streams. The capital element funds the repairs to the property; the current element funds the lease payment to the property owner with the cost of the repairs being recovered from the property owner by offsetting it against the lease payment - annual payments include the ongoing cost of lease payments and costs of new properties brought into the scheme over the course of the year.

At the end of Q3 2019, a total of 1,510 applications for the Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) had been received from property owners; 129 homes had been brought back into use and were tenanted; and 155 agreements for lease had been signed. These statistics as well as year-end current and capital spends, broken down by LA, can be found on my Department's website at the following link:

www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision.

Data in relation to full year RLS activity in 2019 will be available and published on my Department's website early in 2020.

The budget allocation for RLS in 2020 is €10.7 million and I expect local authorities and approved housing bodies to continue to operate the scheme locally. I have no plans to extend the scheme to the private market at this time.