Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 September 2024
84. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average length of time it is taking to process a tenant-in-situ application; the number of tenant-in-situ applications per local authority heretofore; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36487/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs).
For 2023 the Government agreed that there would be increased provision for social housing acquisitions. This has continued into 2024 and my Department will fund local authorities to acquire up to 1,500 social homes this year. The additional acquisitions are focused on properties where a tenant in receipt of social housing supports has received a Notice of Termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property.
Each local authority has been provided with a provisional allocation for social housing acquisitions in 2024 with additional headroom of 50% on the allocation being available under delegated sanction. Acquisitions above this are subject to a sanction request. My Department issued a circular letter to local authorities in March, 2024 and additional guidance in this regard in June.
It is a matter for individual local authorities to identify suitable acquisitions in line with local circumstances and their social housing allocations policy. The time required to complete a social housing acquisition can vary, depending on the circumstances involved. Individual property purchases can be delayed for various reasons such as title difficulties, planning issues, outstanding property taxes, general contractual conditions of sale not in place etc. The process is also reliant on timely progress from the vendor’s legal and sales agents, so timeframes vary from purchase to purchase. My Department does not hold data on the timelines for such acquisitions nor does it hold data on the number of social housing acquisitions expression of interest applications that have been submitted to each local authority. This information, and the details for requesting a review on decisions made, may be available from individual local authorities.
Local authorities take appropriate steps to ensure that their first response will be to support households to try to prevent homelessness in cases where tenants have been served with a notice of termination by their landlord. It is important to acknowledge that the Tenant in Situ scheme has been a key measure in preventing homelessness and as such has mitigated such impacts for many households.
My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority, including completed acquisitions. From 2023, this data includes a breakdown of acquisitions completed by each local authority where a Notice of Termination issued to a tenant and is available, for all local authorities, to the end of Quarter 1 2024 on the statistics page of my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/.
