Written answers

Tuesday, 17 April 2018

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Local Authority Housing Applications

Photo of Tony McLoughlinTony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1580. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason the bidding system for local authority housing has not been introduced in Sligo County Council to date; if a system such as that in operation in the UK will be introduced in County Sligo; his views on the fact that in 2017, 50% of the 203 housing offers made were refused; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16003/18]

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The allocation of social housing support is a matter for the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and associated regulations. Section 22 of the 2009 Act requires all local authorities, as a reserved function, to make an allocation scheme determining the order of priority to be accorded in the allocation of dwellings to households qualified for social housing support and to households approved for a transfer, the allocation of which would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the accommodation needs and requirements of the households.  

On 30th September 2016, the Social Housing Allocation (Amendment) Regulations 2016 were made, which required that all local authorities must, if they had not already done so, provide for Choice Based Letting (CBL) as a potential method of allocation in their allocation schemes by 31 December 2016.

Where a local authority, having included a provision on CBL in its allocation scheme, decides to operate a CBL scheme, it must implement it in accordance with Regulations 6 – 11 of the 2011 Regulations.  Decisions on which properties are to be included under a CBL scheme is a matter for individual authorities.

My Department is committed to monitoring the roll-out of CBL across all Local Authorities, and undertook a survey in the last quarter of 2017 to determine the uptake and impact of CBL. Of the local authorities who have implemented it, the majority said that CBL has had a positive impact on how they allocate dwellings.

Following a survey undertaken by my Department in December 2017, 16 local authorities including Sligo County Council indicated they are currently operating a choice based lettings model as part of their allocation scheme. A further two have indicated their intention to implement a pilot CBL scheme in the near future.

My Department will continue to liaise with local authorities during 2018 with a view to ensuring that CBL is implemented, as widely as possible, across the country given the benefits it can offer tenants and local authorities alike.

The position in relation to the refusal by households of offers of social housing tenancies is set down in Regulation 12 of the Social Housing Allocation Regulations 2011, made under section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.

Under Regulation 12, a household that refuses two reasonable offers of such tenancies in any twelve-month period, other than an offer made under the CBL procedure, will not receive any further offers from any local authority for a period of one year from the date of the second refusal and the latter period is not subsequently reckonable for the purposes of determining the household’s relative priority for another social housing tenancy. 

Under Regulation 12(3) of the 2011 Regulations, an offer is deemed to be reasonable where the dwelling concerned would, in the opinion of the authority, meet the housing needs of the household and, except in an emergency, is located in an area of choice specified by the household.

The only exception to this is where a local authority makes an offer because of specified exceptional circumstances, including displacement because of fire, flood or other emergency, development, redevelopment and regeneration of an area or on exceptional and compassionate grounds. In these circumstances, the local authority concerned does not have to offer the household accommodation in their area of choice for it to be considered a reasonable offer.

My Department does not hold information on the allocation of, or refusal of offers of, social housing supports to households on the waiting list.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.