Rental Sector
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-09
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Niall Collins (FF), Limerick County

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and providing me with an opportunity to update the House. I am replying on behalf of the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne.
Tenancy sustainment, or tenant in situ , is not a stand-alone programme or scheme. It is a priority category under the Department of housing's social housing second-hand acquisitions programme which helps prevent social housing supported households in the private rental sector from becoming homeless. Such acquisitions are an option for local authorities to support households in the most precarious housing situations. They are, and will continue to be, available to local authorities for use as a last resort when all other options have been exhausted. However, they will never be the sole, or even the primary, option.
The default first options should almost always be securing the sustainment of the tenancy with the landlord, securing alternative accommodation through the tenancy sustainment and placefinder services, or allocating a local authority or approved housing body tenancy via a new build home or re-let. Where acquisitions are deemed necessary, local authorities may pursue individual priority acquisitions without recourse to the Department once they satisfy the broad parameters and criteria of the second-hand acquisitions programme.
A total of €373 million is available for drawdown by local authorities and approved housing bodies under this year's programme. With more than 17,000 persons in emergency homeless accommodation, including more than 5,000 children, the primary focus of this year’s programme is to help households exit emergency homeless accommodation into permanent housing. To this end, the largest share of funding available for drawdown, €150 million, is ring-fenced for acquisitions supporting households out of homelessness. Thereafter, €50 million is available to approved housing bodies for urgent acquisitions for older persons, persons with disabilities, care leavers, etc.
The remaining €173 million comprises €157 million for local authority priority acquisitions, including tenant in situ purchases, and a contingency of €16 million for local authorities that have drawn down most of their allocation but can complete further acquisitions and draw down the funding from the Department before the end of the year. Fingal County Council has been allocated an initial €30.7 million, with €6 million and €7 million earmarked for approved housing body and local authority priority acquisitions, respectively.
Consistent with the eligibility criteria introduced last year, refurbishment or adaptation costs are no longer an eligible cost for tenant in situ acquisitions. Generally, extensive refurbishments should not be required on these properties. They already benefit from significant Exchequer-funded rent supports through the housing assistance payment or rental accommodation scheme and, critically, must comply fully with the housing standards for rental houses regulations.
If refurbishment is required, local authorities need only undertake works necessary to comply with the regulations, effectively ensuring homes are immediately safe, secure and warm. In such cases, local authorities can draw on the significant rental funding available to them through their respective annual budgetary processes. Notably in Fingal County Council, successive budgets have facilitated an increased level of funding to housing maintenance, with an approximate 50% increase since 2020 alone. The 2026 budget includes an additional increase in housing maintenance allocation.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-09