Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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339. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of tenants in Clare on the tenant-in-situ scheme; and the number that have been rejected since inception. [13042/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Tenant in Situ Acquisitions were introduced by way of Government decision in 2023 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 such acquisitions 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.

Tenant in Situ acquisitions have been an important measure in the prevention of homelessness since their introduction in 2023.  Government has therefore agreed to continue such acquisitions in 2025.  My Department has notified local authorities on the extension of the programme and a circular setting out the arrangements will issue shortly.

With regards to Clare County Council, it should be noted that it is a matter for individual local authorities to identify suitable acquisitions in line with local circumstances and their social housing allocations policy.  My Department does not hold data, therefore, on the number of social housing acquisitions applications that have been withdrawn or rejected, nor on the reasons for such withdrawals or rejections. Further information may be available from individual local authorities.

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 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: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/

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