COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, September 14, 2009

QUESTION NO. 21

QUESTION: Councillor W. Lavelle

To ask the Manager for details on the number of units rented by the council under the Rental Allowance Scheme, categorised by different unit type & bedroom number and indicating an average rent payment for each category?

REPLY:

There are 795 properties in the Rental Accommodation Scheme at present and 658 of these properties have been contracted from private landlords.  The remainder are made up of  100 properties purchased by South Dublin County Council and designated RAS properties and 37 properties funded under the Capital Assistance Scheme.

Both apartments and houses have  been contracted by landlords into RAS and the split is 209 apartments and 449  houses.

The break down in terms of bedrooms is as follows:

Apartments

One Bedroom          Two Bedrooms         Three Bedrooms

38                               154                            17

Houses

Two Bedrooms          Three Bedrooms          Four Bedrooms         Five Bedrooms          Six Bedrooms         

25                                387                                 30                                6                                  1

 The rent levels to be paid on new RAS contracts are reviewed regularly to ensure that value for money is being achieved.  A review of rents being paid for properties contracted into RAS more than one year ago is about to commence with a view to achieving more savings. 

At present rents paid under new RAS contracts are in the region of  700 to 750 euro per month for 1 bedroom properties; 850 to 900 euro per month for 2 bedroom properties; 950 to 1000 euro per month for 3 bedroom properties and 1050 to 1100 euro per month for 4 bedroom properties. These rents are negotiated with the property owners and take into account the size, location and condition of the individual properties.  The Council will continue to extract maximum value for money out of the current circumstances and will expect to achieve further savings through the rent review process.