Local councils across the country suspend homebuyer scheme amid funding row with department
The Tenant in Situ scheme allows renters to stay in their privately rented home even if the landlord decides to sell, with the council or the Housing Agency stepping in to buy the property from the landlord.
According to figures provided to
The Journal
, just over half of Ireland's 31 local authorities have paused the scheme or are set to put a halt on it imminently. A conservative estimates from figures provided means more than 300 households facing eviction are left in limbo due to the uncertainty.
The Department of Housing, which sets the rules and funding for the programme, defended how it has handled the scheme. It told
The Journal
that local authorities have drawn down 'only 36% of the allocated funding' and that 'no local authority has exhausted its individual allocated funding'.
But this was disputed by a number of councils who said on the record that they have 'exhausted' or 'paused' the scheme because they have either committed their budget or have spent it on preventing families from ending up out of the street.
New figures reveal drop in scheme
The government is set to come under further pressure as figures published yesterday revealed that there was a drop of 40% in the number of properties acquired so far this year, when compared with the same period last year.
741 were acquired by councils in the first half of 2024 according to the Department of Housing's quarterly homeless report, while 292 have been acquired in the same period this year.
A number of councils described being hamstrung by this year's funding allocation and new eligibility requirements required by the Department of Housing.
Limerick City and County Council said it had been able to 'prevent homelessness' for 141 households since April 2023, but added that it had now stopped negotiations on dozens more homes.
Since this year's funding was announced and new eligibility requirements tightening the scheme were set by the department, Limerick City and County Council 'have not been able to progress 32 properties,' a spokesperson said.
Talks on a further 68 potentially eligible properties have not gone anywhere as as result.
As well as Limerick, councils in Dublin, Galway, and Sligo all said they were putting the programme on hold, with funding cited by all.
The standoff over the scheme comes as the latest housing figures show that 15,747 people are in emergency accommodation.
How the scheme was formed
Following the lifting of the eviction ban two years ago, the government has pumped hundreds of millions of euro into the plan, as figures showed that more than half of eviction cases involved a landlord selling their property.
Since April 2023, more than 2,500 households have been able to avoid homelessness because of the scheme.
But there have been a raft of changes introduced to the scheme since, seeing the requirements to qualify tighten.
One of the new measures introduced by the department has been a requirement that the Tenant in Situ programme should only be used as a last resort by councils, with this point emphasised by Housing Minister James Browne to TDs during an
Oireachtas committee last week
.
It's understood this has been partly taken as a way of preventing councils from overspending on homes, but it's feared it has resulted in making it harder for a family to avoid homelessness.
Housing Minister James Browne has come under new pressure because of delays in the scheme.
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Spending limits have also been adopted
by councils, with Dublin City Council capping its maximum spend under the scheme at €527,000 per house.
The scheme was suspended for several months of this year as the outgoing government could not agree on new funding targets.
The Department of Housing told
The Journal
that Browne, the Housing Minister, had gotten agreement from Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers to allocate an additional €265m for such acquisitions to get it back on track. This brought the budget for 2025 to €325m.
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In a number of cases,
The Journal
learned that councils were also allocated significantly less this year compared to last year, which Opposition TDs argued was a contributing factor behind why the funding has already run out in some areas – particularly in cities.
This led to holdups in the scheme this year until the government signed off on the extra €265 million to the scheme in recent months.
This funding would cover measures including the Tenant in Situ scheme, along with vacant property purchases, and housing for disabled and older people.
Which councils are impacted?
Over recent months
The Journal
has covered the
personal impact
the changes and holdups in the scheme have had for families.
Now, the vast majority of those affected are councils operating in large towns and cities – from Dublin to Cork and Sligo.
Fingal County Council
was among those which said it has 'paused all new applications' to the scheme because the funding allocation of €20million for second-hand acquisitions for this year has been 'exhausted' already.
The amount the council had been allocated was almost half of that for the previous year, when it spent €39.9m to prevent homelessness for 121 households.
It was a similar story for the country's largest local authority.
Dublin City Council
had completed purchases of 253 homes last year through the scheme and was allocated €95 million to cover acquisitions for this year.
Because funding has been used to cater for households from a backlog of last year's cases, the council is unable to proceed with more purchases this year. Since January, the council has received 126 enquiries for the Tenant in Situ scheme but is 'not currently proceeding with any new acquisitions at this time'.
Staying in the capital,
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and South Dublin County Council
both said they were waiting to see if they received more funding to try and buy homes where eviction notices had been served this year.
Elsewhere,
Wicklow County Council
said it has 'paused the scheme for the moment', as discussions take place with the Department of Housing for its budget to cover the rest of the year.
Some rural councils are faring better.
Kilkenny County Council
is continuing the scheme 21 homes purchased to date, with two more in progress.
Kerry County Council
has similarly purchased 23 properties under the programme.
In the past two years,
Westmeath County Council
has acquired 97 properties but added that it's 'more limited' due to the stricter criteria issued by the department for acquisitions.
Munster and Connacht
In Munster,
Cork City Council
and
Limerick City and County Council
have both been lobbying the department to increase its funding as a way to prevent homelessness.
A spokesperson for Limerick City and County Council said the council was 'not actively using' the scheme any longer 'due to the current funding envelope being committed' already.
It described its funding for this year as having 'limited the number of acquisitions we can pursue', and that it was continuing to 'lobby for additional funding to assist in acquiring more homes to prevent homelessness'.
Waterford City and County Council
was the only predominantly urban council in the country to say that it was still operating the scheme.
In the west, the likes of
Sligo County Council
and
Galway City Council
have also placed the measure on hold.
A total of 47 expressions of interest to the scheme from households in Galway city are on file 'should further funding become available in 2025″, a spokesperson for Galway City Council said.
'Some properties have been bought, and others are being progressed,' the spokesperson said.
'However, funding is limited and, at this stage, our 2025 allocation has been committed.'
In Sligo, the council said it had prevented 35 families from falling into homelessness as of mid-July. 'A number of applications are currently on hold and will be assessed towards the end of 2025,' a spokesperson said.
Rory Hearne, housing spokesperson for the Social Democrats, said that the restrictions on the scheme had 'worsened' the housing crisis.
'The fact that many councils, particularly city councils in Cork, Dublin and other urban areas, are already out of funding and have had to suspend the scheme shows the Tenant in Situ scheme has effectively been stopped in these areas, which are the areas worst hit by homelessness,' the Dublin North-West TD told
The Journal
.
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