Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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605. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of people that have applied to Cork County Council for the tenant-in-situ scheme and the tenant (incremental) purchase scheme since 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2866/25]

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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607. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when he will announce the funding allocations and sanctioned number of acquisitions that will be designated to local authorities under the tenant-in-situ scheme for 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2949/25]

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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612. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason no tenant-in-situ cases have been approved in 2025 for Cork city; the number currently pending; and when these will be processed. [3077/25]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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614. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the short-, medium- and long-term future of the cost rental tenant-in-situ scheme and the social housing variation of same, given that the issue is causing a lot of anxiety among tenants in Dublin south west with South Dublin County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3098/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 605, 607, 612 and 614 together.

The Tenant in Situ Acquisitions Programme was introduced by way of Government decision in 2023. It was originally intended as a short term response to the reported uplift in sales by landlords of homes which were within the HAP and RAS schemes in order to prevent potential homelessness where other solutions could not be found for the affected tenants.

A further Government decision extended the programme into 2024 with approval granted for 1,300 Tenant in Situ acquisitions in addition to the 200 priority acquisitions target for 2024 contained in Housing for All.

It is a matter for individual local authorities to identify suitable acquisitions in line with local circumstances and their social housing allocations policy. Local authorities take appropriate steps to ensure that their first response will be to support households to prevent homelessness in cases where tenants have been served with a notice of termination by their landlord. A local authority will assess the options available in each case and decide the appropriate action.

My Department does not hold data on the number of social housing acquisitions expression of interest applications that have been submitted to each local authority. This information may be available from individual local authorities.

Any decision in relation to a further extension of the Tenant in Situ scheme into 2025 is a matter for the new Government.

The Cost Rental Tenant In-Situ (CRTiS) scheme was introduced on 1 April 2023 for tenants in private rental homes who are not in receipt of social housing supports but are at risk of homelessness because a landlord has served a valid Notice of Termination due to an intention to sell the property.

The Local Authority conducts the initial assessment for eligibility of the tenant for this scheme and refers potential cases to the Housing Agency, which is responsible for administering and managing the scheme on behalf of my Department, pending further policy development over the longer term. I am informed that the Housing Agency has engaged with more than 220 landlords across all Local Authority areas, with a view to the purchase of those homes.

The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme 2016 came into operation on 1 January 2016 and allows tenants of local authority houses to apply to purchase their home. The scheme is governed by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 and Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015, as amended, and is open to eligible tenants of local authority houses that are available for sale under the scheme.

My Department does not require local authorities to report on the number of applications received, approved or refused in relation to this scheme. This information may be sought from the local authority directly.

Statistical information regarding the number of homes sold under the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme by Cork County Council, from the beginning of the Scheme until the end of 2023, is available from my Department’s website:

My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority. Comprehensive data on social and affordable housing is published on my Department's website up to Quarter 3 2024, including completed acquisitions:

Data for all of these schemes up to Q4 2024 is being collected and collated.