Local authorities will not be able to refurbish properties they buy under a key State scheme aimed at preventing people from entering homelessness.
New restrictions on the Tenant in Situ scheme were outlined in a circular sent to all local authorities on Thursday and seen by The Irish Times.
The scheme, introduced in 2023, aims to protect vulnerable renters whose landlords are selling up.
It allows local authorities to buy properties where tenants are facing eviction and applies to tenants who have received a notice of termination, are deemed at risk of experiencing homelessness and who qualify for social housing support such as the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).
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Local authorities have had to pause the processing of new applications to the scheme as they await confirmation of how many units they are allowed to buy this year. The department has said confirmation of allocated funding for each local authority “will be communicated in the coming weeks”.
Minister for Housing James Browne on Tuesday announced a budget of €265 million for State housing acquisitions including the Tenant in Situ scheme and Buy and Renew acquisitions, which seek to tackle vacancy.
The circular sent on Thursday outlines new mandatory criteria for on the Tenant in Situ scheme, including a line stating the “purchase price and associated fees (e.g. valuation, legal etc.) only will be recouped to LAs/AHBs and must be within the Acquisition Cost Guidelines” and omits any expenditure on refurbishment.
Labour housing spokesman Conor Sheehan said this exclusion “will make the scheme effectively unworkable”.
Other new criteria include the need to “prioritise acquisitions for families with children, older persons or people with a disability who are at serious risk of homelessness”, effectively excluding single people or couples without children.
It also says properties must have been used for social housing support purposes for at least two years to qualify. This ties the waiting time to the property rather than the person.
Any houses being bought under the scheme must have a tenancy that is registered with the RTB, and the validity of the eviction notice must confirmed by the local authority or approved housing body.
A full review of the criteria for Tenant in Situ acquisitions will be undertaken this year, the circular states.
Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said the restrictions were “arbitrary” and would “increase many people’s risk of homelessness”.
“At a time when homelessness is increasing month on month this is a mistake. The Tenant-in-Situ scheme has been a success. It has prevented hundreds of families, couples and single people from becoming homeless,” he said. “Instead of reducing the funding and targets and introducing new restrictions, Government should be expanding it.”
