Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 May 2024
195. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of tenant-in-situ scheme purchases that have been completed; the number that are in progress; and the number of failed purchases in 2023, by local authority area, in tabular form. [20979/24]
View answer196. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the reasons for unsuccessful/incomplete tenant-in-situ purchases. [20980/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 196 together.
Under 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 and 2024, the Government agreed that there would be increased provision for social housing acquisitions and my Department will fund local authorities to acquire 1,500 social homes this year. The additional acquisitions are focused primarily 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. My Department issued a circular letter to all local authorities in March 2024, setting out details of the arrangements for 2024 and each local authority was provided with a provisional allocation for social housing acquisitions.
It is a matter for individual local authorities to identify suitable acquisitions in line with local circumstances and their social housing allocations policy. My Department does not hold data, therefore, on the number of social housing acquisitions applications that have been withdrawn or rejected, nor on the reasons for such withdrawals or rejections. Further information may be available from individual local authorities.
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 4 2023 on the statistics page of my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/.
