Seanad debates
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Departmental Schemes
1:00 pm
Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss this all-important topic. My question is to do with the tenant in situ scheme and how long it takes for the AHBs to complete sales. I have been dealing with a number of people who are trying to avail of the tenantin situscheme. One particular person who comes to mind - and this relates to Limerick City and County Council - applied in April 2023. They informed the council that they were being put out of their home because the lady who owned the property died. The house was tied up in probate and the family of the person who died was selling the house. The council handed the case over to one of the housing agencies. We are now heading into March 2024 and it still has not been completed. Yet this lady has lived in the house for the past 15 years. They have been living in the house for a long time and now find they are at risk of being put out.
The lady who is responsible for selling the property on behalf of the family has an agency working on her behalf and it cannot get in touch with or get a response from the housing agencies.The tenant's family is very vulnerable and she has a son who is doing the leaving certificate and is very upset at the fact they do not know whether they will have a roof over their heads.
I have one or two questions. Have many people been approved for this scheme?I know that when she was approved originally this lady was informed that she was one of the first in Ireland to be approved. How long does the general turnaround of the scheme take? Is there a phone number in the Department or a person who could be allocated in the Department that when a person finds themselves in this situation they have a point of contact?There seems to be no communication between the Housing Agency and the Department in respect of this case.
Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. The case study she has presented is obviously challenging for the family involved. A key priority for the Government is that everybody should have access to sustainable and good quality housing to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard and located close to essential services, offering a high quality of life. The Government plans to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 units per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 cost rental homes by 2030. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of more than €4 billion per annum.
For 2023, the Government has agreed to an increased provision for social housing acquisitions and my Department provided funding for local authorities and, in certain cases, approved housing bodies, AHBs, to acquire at least 1,500 social homes. The additional acquisitions have focused primarily on properties where a tenant is in receipt of social housing supports and has received a notice of termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property. For 2024, the Government has again agreed to an increased provision to acquire 1,500 social homes. Acquisitions must be within acquisition cost guidelines issued by my Department. These guidelines are reviewed and updated as appropriate by my Department, usually on an annual basis. An independent valuation must also be obtained for each acquisition, in line with established practice for social housing acquisitions.
The capital assistance scheme, CAS, is one of the main sources within the Department's Vote to provide funding to AHBs for the construction and acquisition of homes for priority categories. While activity under the CAS programme is strong overall, a particular area seeing strong CAS-AHB activity is the response to homelessness and the prevention of same, with tenant in situacquisitions ramping up significantly.
My Department does not hold data on the specific timelines for individual acquisitions by AHBs. The time required to complete a social housing acquisition can vary, depending on the circumstances involved. In the case referred to by the Senator, the process has been unduly long for the family concerned. Individual property purchases can be delayed for various reasons, such as the owner not having full legal title, various planning issues, outstanding property taxes, general contractual conditions of sale not being in place and so on. As the process is also reliant on timely progress from the vendor’s legal and sales agents, timeframes vary from purchase to purchase.
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. When a local authority decides the appropriate course of action is to acquire a property via an approved housing body, my Department will support these acquisitions. The tenant in situ acquisitions programme has proven to be a very successful measure to prevent homelessness where a tenant receives a notice of termination and is making a significant impact in providing secure long-term tenancies.
I will address the issue further in my supplementary response. The case she has outlined involves a significant challenge for the family. There is no doubt the process can be stressful, particularly for young family members. I do not have the numbers to hand in terms of those approved. I can certainly get a county-by-county breakdown. We have that information in the Department. As I stated, there are various issues that may cause turnaround on the scheme to be held up. I again recognise that in this case it seems the family has had a very lengthy wait.
Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the increased funding, the increased number of houses being built and the work of the AHBs, but in the case to which I refer there are no issues relating to the house, planning or legal rights. It was tied up in the fair deal nursing home scheme. The issue is that the lady who is selling the house is now talking about pulling out of the deal as it has been going on for so long. Obviously, she wants to get probate sorted out and her relative's affairs in order. The family in the house is now left in limbo. They are being told that if the problem is not solved soon, the house will be placed on the private market. Is there anybody to whom these people can reach out?There needs to be somebody put in charge to liaise with people in this situation.
Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Certainly I will take this back to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. I will speak to him personally about it. If all parties are in agreement, it is important to engage proactively on the ground with the AHB and the Housing Agency to try to get this matter resolved as quickly as possible. On the suggestion about having a person allocated, I am not sure about that but certainly I can find out. Obviously, there is a team dealing with it in our Department. The idea of a dedicated person as a point of contact is a good one and something I can certainly take back as a suggestion. I do hope that the matter is resolved for all parties as soon as possible.
Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his time in the Seanad this afternoon. It is much appreciated.