Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Government has developed the Cost Rental Tenant In-Situ (CRTiS) scheme for tenants in private rental homes who are at risk of homelessness because a landlord intends to sell the property but who are not in receipt of social housing supports.

The scheme was established on a temporary administrative basis from 1 April 2023 and is managed by the Housing Agency, pending further policy development over the longer term, with the intention of transitioning these homes to the standard Cost Rental model.

While my Department is not responsible for the assessment of individual applications, some of the reasons why properties are not approved for acquisition by the Housing Agency under the scheme include:

vendor expectations of the value of the property are in excess of the Housing Agency's independent valuation;

the vendor expectation and/or the market value of the property is in excess of the Acquisition Cost Guidelines for the relevant Local Authority area;

the condition of the property and the amount of works required to bring it to an acceptable standard make it too difficult for the Housing Agency to pursue the acquisition further; or

the vendor withdraws or wants to take the property to the market.

As a result, not every home will be eligible for acquisition within the constraints of these factors. At all times, the Housing Agency is mindful of the purpose of the CRTiS scheme, which is to assist tenants at risk of homelessness, the need to ensure value for money in the expenditure of public funds, and the goal that acquired homes be suitable for use as Cost Rental housing over the long term.