Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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301. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if consideration has been given to the question as to whether the procedures and standards imposed by his Department on local authorities seeking to relet properties are giving rise to the significant delays and considerable costs which are arising in such cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53344/25]

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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302. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the policies that exist within his Department or across local authorities in relation to a prospective tenant undertaking necessary refurbishment or improvement works to a vacant unit immediately after allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53345/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 301 and 302 together.

The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, is a matter for each individual local authority under Section 58 of the Housing Act 1966.

Furthermore, the standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 and specify requirements in relation to a range of matters, such as structural repair, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, natural light, fire safety and the safety of gas, oil and electrical supplies.

These Regulations apply to all properties let or available for letting, both private rental and social housing. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with the standards set down in these Regulations. Therefore, it would be expected that the dwellings allocated to local authority tenants should meet the legal obligation as set out in these regulations and additional refurbishment or improvement works should not be necessary.

My Department also provides annual funding support to local authorities in preparing vacant units for re-let under the Voids Programme. This funding is provided to support local authorities in their efforts to manage their housing stock efficiently and is in addition to funding from the local authorities own resources.

The emphasis of the programme is on those refurbishment works necessary to comply with the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019 to ensure quick turnaround and re-letting times. Works which may be desirable but which are not required to comply with the aforementioned regulations at the time of vacancy, should be deferred and carried out under planned maintenance over the lifecycle of the asset. Where a local authority chooses to do works over and above those which are necessary to comply with the rental standards, it can impact re-let times and result in additional costs for the local authority.

Consequently, where local authorities take a pragmatic approach and implement the Voids Programme as prescribed, this results in improved turnaround times for vacant stock and reduced costs for local authorities at the time of vacancy.