The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and carrying out of responsive repairs, are matters for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966.
Since 2014, Exchequer funding has also been provided through my Department's Voids Programme to supplement the local authority funding available for the preparation of vacant properties for re-letting. The funding was introduced originally to tackle long term vacant units and is now increasingly targeted to support authorities to ensure minimal turnaround and re-let times for vacant stock.
From 2014 to 2021, expenditure of some €261 million was recouped to local authorities under the Voids Programme which funded the return to productive use of 18,527 properties nationwide. Local authorities also provide significant funding from their own resources to address the level of vacancy within the social housing stock.
Under the 2022 Voids Programme, funding of €25 million has been made available across the local authorities for the remediation of 2,273 properties.
My Department will continue to support local authorities in their work in this area. Funding allocations under the 2023 Programme will be announced early in 2023. Notwithstanding the voids funding being provided by my Department, local authorities have a responsibility to provide adequate housing maintenance budgets for 2023 and this parallel work by local authorities is essential for the development of the planned maintenance approach, which is an objective of Housing for All.
Given the very significant investment into the Voids Programme over recent years, local authorities should now be in a strong position to begin the transition to a strategic and informed planned maintenance approach to stock management and maintenance. To that end, my Department and local authorities are working to transition from a largely response and voids-based approach to housing stock management and maintenance, to a planned maintenance approach as referenced in Housing for All, policy objective 20.6. This will require the completion of stock condition surveys by all local authorities and the subsequent development of strategic and informed work programmes in response. This process has started this year as a further €5 million in funding has been ring-fenced for Planned Maintenance under this year's Planned Maintenance/Voids Programme to support the implementation of an ICT asset management system for the local authority sector and to provide a funding contribution for the commencement of stock condition surveys.
