Ten tenants in situ purchases allowed for Laois 'not a target'
Laois County Council says a Department of Housing Circular issued on March 13 this year sets out arrangements for social housing acquisitions in 2023.
It says the Circular provides for the provision of an additional 1,300 acquisitions nationally in 2023 with a specific focus on the acquisition of properties where a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme HAP or RAS (Rental Accommodation Scheme) tenant has received a Notice of Termination due to the sale of a property.
Both schemes are operated by Laois and other local authorities for people on the social housing waiting list.
The council said local authorities are asked to place a greater focus on acquisitions in areas of greatest need and to support their planning, each local authority is being provided with an initial allocation for the number of such acquisitions, that can be funded by the Dept of Housing.
“Laois County Council’s allocation in this regard is ten. This is not a target, but rather to support the planning and allow for prioritisation of such acquisitions as required,” said the council.
The council added that for the past number of months it has been “closely monitoring the likely and expected impact in anticipation of the recent policy decision”.
It said each case is being considered on a case-by-case basis having regard to the particular household circumstances of the private rented tenant (applicant) which requires validation, tenant’s history regarding rent, antisocial issues, specific need, etc. and where possible all accommodation options available will be explored. The council said that in terms of the acquisition of a property, criteria such as availability on the open market, sale price, condition of property and estate management generally will have to be examined.
Meanwhile, the council said it has to date bought six properties under the scheme, out of 34 offered to the local authority.
The council told the Irish Times that it was considering placing offers on a further 13 homes.
The scheme is one of the measures outlined by the Government as one of the ways of mitigating the impact of the lifting of the eviction ban on March 31.