Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
188. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the position regarding the tenant in situ scheme for Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council; if he can commit to multiannual funding of this scheme; if allowances for the increased cost of housing in Dublin can be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37223/26]
View answerTenancy sustainment, or tenant-in-situ, is not a stand alone programme or scheme. Rather it is an eligible category of acquisition introduced as part of my Department's Social Housing Second Hand Acquisitions Programme in 2023.
Tenant in situ acquisitions are an option for local authorities to support households in the most precarious housing situations. Such acquisitions are, and will continue to be, available to local authorities for use as a last resort when all other options have been exhausted. However, they will never be the sole, or even the primary, option. The default first options should almost always be securing the sustainment of the tenancy with the landlord, securing alternative accommodation through the Tenancy Sustainment and Placefinder services, or allocating a local authority or Approved Housing Body tenancy via a new build home or re-let.
Ultimately, the delivery of new additional social homes is the only strategic solution to address long-term homelessness, with allocations from new and existing local authority and AHB social homes the primary means through which social housing qualified households should be accommodated. With the social housing new build programme gathering momentum and providing more social housing, this will allow for a reduced reliance on the Second Hand Acquisitions Programme over the coming years.
Funding allocations under the 2026 Second Hand Acquisitions Programme, including individual local authority priority category allocations, were notified to local authorities in February this year. Some €373 million is available for drawdown by local authorities and AHBs as follows:
• Exits from Homelessness - €150 million
• AHB Priority Delivery (supporting older persons, persons with disabilities, care leavers) - €50 million
• LA Priority Delivery (including tenancy sustainment or tenant-in-situ acquisitions) - €157 million.
Some €16.2 million is available for draw down by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council this year, an increase of €4 million on the Council's initial 2025 allocation.
The multi-annual funding approach introduced last year will continue in 2026. This will facilitate Dun Laoghaire Rathdown to commit up to the value of 30% of its 2026 allocation (some €4.1 million) for acquisitions that may only complete or drawdown funding in 2027, ensuring acquisitions can progress in the closing months of 2026 with certainty funding will be available in 2027.
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council also has recourse to the contingency fund of €16 million set aside for local authorities that have drawn down most of their initial allocations and have capacity to complete further acquisitions and draw down the relevant funding this year.
My Department's Acquisition Cost Guidelines provide cost guidance for the acquisition of second hand properties. They reference lower and upper cost ranges, as well as average benchmark costs, and reflect the prevailing range of prices across local authorities at the time of issue. They are not ceilings or limits but benchmarks. My Department considers all acquisition proposals where the cost of acquiring the property exceeds guidelines, on a case-by-case basis, and having regard to appropriate value for money considerations. Guidelines are issued annually and updated guidance is expected to issue in near future.
