Paul Hosford: Darragh O’Brien is banking on unproven schemes to solve housing crisis 

Paul Hosford says the house purchase schemes announced this week will help determine if the end of the eviction ban will be an even bigger issue this summer

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien was flanked by his junior ministers Kieran O’Donnell and Malcolm Noonan during Tuesday's media briefing at Government Buildings. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

The announcement that the Government would allow the eviction ban to lapse at the end of this month was not entirely surprising.

While the weekend had seen some suggestions that some form of extension would be recommended to coalition leaders by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, the way had been paved for the ban to be rolled back a few weeks previously as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin both spoke publicly about how difficult it would be to keep the eviction ban in place. 

When Mr O’Brien made the announcement on Tuesday, he was flanked not by the party leaders, but by his junior ministers, Kieran O’Donnell and Malcolm Noonan. 

Three schemes

He did not come empty-handed, announcing a number of proposals that the trio hope will stave off homelessness when the ban ends. These include: 

• A change of law that would require a landlord selling a property to first offer it to the tenant on an independent valuation basis; 
• Expanding the first home equity scheme to take in those tenants; 
• A “cost-rental backstop” which would allow approved housing bodies (AHBs) buy the homes of those who do not qualify for social housing supports and rent them back on a “bespoke cost-rental” model.

Mr O’Brien also updated the Government on an additional 1,000 long-term leased homes which will be delivered between 2023 and 2024 and provided information on the review of the capital advance leasing facility, one of the main funding sources provided by the department for approved housing bodies.

Few details so far

These moves, along with the 1,500 vacant homes returned to the stock in the six months of the ban, are all positive news. However, there is little information on how these schemes would work. And while Mr O’Brien said that he hoped the number of homes purchased by councils would hit 1,500, it may be tough work to achieve that. 

Asked for details, local authorities across the country gave varying figures for their successes in the scheme, but none had completed the purchase of more than 23 — the mark set by Kildare County Council.

There are numerous reasons why these figures would be low, but the primary factor — according to council sources — is that buying a home is a long process. In at least one local authority, it is understood that it is the responsibility of one person alone to handle all purchases, including those where a tenant is in place.

Complex process 

Anyone who has ever bought one home can tell you that it is a taxing, time-consuming, and detailed process. Add in the layers of tenant assessment, building inspection, and valuation before an offer is even made and it is understandable why the numbers would not be higher. All of this in a heated property market which moves fast, and councils may not have the luxury of carrying out the necessary checks before a landlord sells. But all of this also raises the question on whether Mr O’Brien’s ambitious target can actually be hit. 

Acquiring 1,500 homes through any one mechanism is a big ask. Asking 26 local authorities, each with different priorities, housing lists, and resources, to combine to hit this number may be too big a stretch.

Mr O’Brien’s spokesperson said he is confident of hitting the target: “The minister is confident it will be reached. He has assigned targets for tenant in situ to each local authority area and is asking local authorities to report progress on these targets.

“Where a local authority can and wishes to exceed their individual target they will be supported to do so.“

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But beyond saying that the Government will underpin the financing and has set targets, it’s unclear just how this target will be reached.

Details of the schemes announced on Tuesday will become clearer in the coming weeks and Mr O’Brien is banking on them stemming any potential rises in homelessness. If they do not, the eviction ban will become an issue deep into the summer.