Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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428. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the criteria on the price limit of properties for acquisition under the local authority and cost rental tenant-in-situ schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39732/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department issued Acquisition Cost Guidelines (ACGs) in April of this year for each local authority area. These ACGs are updated by my Department on an annual basis.

The ACGs provide cost guidelines for the acquisition by housing authorities, of second-hand properties for the provision of social housing. These guidelines reference lower and upper cost ranges along with an average/benchmark cost, which is representative of the average range of current (at the time of issue) prices across the local authority area. The same ACGs are used by the Housing Agency for the acquisition of homes under the Cost Rental Tenant in Situ (CRTiS) scheme.

The ACGs reflect anticipated benchmark levels at the time released, most recently Q2 of 2023. My Department continues to monitor tender price trends on an ongoing basis and all incoming funding applications are considered with such trends in mind.

The ACGs are not applied as absolute ceiling/limits, but instead act as a key benchmark for the development and costing of scheme designs at capital appraisal stage. Similarly, we will continue to consider acquisition proposals, of both schemes, where the cost of acquiring the property may exceed the guidelines provided, having regard to appropriate value for money considerations.