Tenant-in-situ funding 'way below par for Limerick'

A NEWCASTLE West councillor has said the funding Government is delivering for its Tenant-in-situ scheme “is way below par”.

Cllr Jerome Scanlan, Independent, believes the money in place will only enable Limerick City and County Council to buy 21 homes “at low water”.

The Tenant-in-situ scheme was introduced a number of years ago, offering private landlords the chance to sell their properties to the local authority, which would then rent them back to the same tenant, preventing their homelessness.

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Some €325m has been made available to the 31 local authorities in the State - an initial €60m, and a further €265m.

But Cllr Scanlan, a former bank manager, says this will not go far in Limerick.

He referenced the additional funding of €265m when he said: “It works out at around €8m per authority. You then take the average price of a house, around €390,000, which is probably on the low side if you’re looking at Dublin. That will allow you to buy 21 homes per authority.”

“It’s worrying for want of a better way of putting it,” he said.

He said there is concern for tenants facing homelessness, but also fear that landlords who initially committed to selling their house to the local authority will walk away from the scheme due to a lack of funding.

“The last thing they want to do is to be seen to be responsible for making someone homeless. But they need to dispose of their property,” he said.

Asked for a comment, the Department of Housing’s press office stated: “The Government is committed to the continuation of the second-hand social housing acquisitions programme and targetting those acquisitions at those most vulnerable.”

They said the funding announced by Housing Minister James Browne last month will allow the purchase of a similar number of properties to what it did last year.