Government needs to revamp tenant in situ scheme as a 'matter of urgency'
The tenant in situ scheme was introduced last April as part of a suite of measures to reduce evictions
The Government needs to revamp its much-vaunted tenant in situ scheme as a "matter of urgency" after it emerged that not a single property has been converted into a cost-rental unit a year after it launched.
New data shows that despite the scheme being launched with much fanfare a year ago, no tenants have been placed on a lower rate of rent.
The tenant in situ scheme was introduced last April as part of a suite of measures to reduce evictions. Under the scheme, the Housing Agency can buy properties from private landlords, meaning the tenant can remain in the property instead of being evicted.
The tenant pays the same rent as they paid under their previous landlord and the Housing Agency becomes the landlord. It is envisioned that the properties would transition to a cost-rental model, meaning the rent payable is lower than market rates.
However, the new data shows that no properties have been moved onto this cheaper rent a year after the scheme was established.
Data provided by the Housing Agency show that 31 houses have been acquired by the body under the scheme.
According to the Housing Agency, there have been 282 households referred to it by local authorities seeking to access the scheme. Of these, 226 were found to be eligible, while the remaining were either ineligible or currently being assessed.
Alongside properties that have already been acquired, as of March 15, there are 102 homes at various stages of the acquisition process, with bids having been accepted by landlords.
However, of all the homes acquired by the Housing Agency, none have been sold to Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) as planned.
Unless a property is sold to an AHB, it is unable to transition into a cost-rental tenancy.
The Housing Agency, in a letter to Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin seen by the , sets out that the rents paid by its tenants are the same as they were prior to the house being purchased by the State body.
It has also flagged that it can take a “significant amount of time” for properties to be sold to AHBs, citing a previous €70m fund that was used to buy vacant properties from banks and other financial institutions.
The Department of Housing has confirmed that it is currently developing a legal framework for the scheme, with plans to amend the 2021 Affordable Housing Act.
“In anticipation of these properties being formally designated as Cost Rental Dwellings, the department is preparing the necessary legal framework for this to take place,” a spokesperson for the department said.
“As part of this, the department has had initial engagement with relevant stakeholders including AHBs in relation to the scheme pending further policy development over the longer term.”
Mr Ó Broin, his party's spokesperson on housing, was critical of the scheme, saying that the Government need to address the lack of conversions as a “matter of urgency”.
“The bigger problem, however, is the scheme just isn’t fit for purpose. People don’t know about it, people aren’t applying for it. Far too few people have been able to avail of it,” Mr Ó Broin said.
“There must be a far larger number of people out there for whom this scheme could provide long-term security of tenure.”
Alongside calling for greater promotion, Mr Ó Broin said that the scheme could be improved by allowing tenants to go directly to the Housing Agency, rather than through a local authority.
This comes just days after it was confirmed that the Government missed its social and affordable housing targets for 2023.
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