COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
HEADED ITEM NO. 7
Allocations Scheme
REPORT:
Standard Housing
Housing units are allocated in accordance with the allocation scheme in place at the time. The most recent one was adopted by the Council on the 13th June 2011.
In accordance with this scheme the Council allocates the available housing dwellings to the next highest on the housing list. The Council offers dwellings solely by telephone with a follow-up letter being sent to those on second offer, outlining refusal of first offer and any ramifications of refusal of second offer. If the dwelling is accepted arrangements are put in place for the signing of the tenancy agreement and the house is allocated. All allocations are made subject to Estate Management and Garda checks.
Proposed changes to this process.
In a good many instances the offers made above are refused. It can take up to 10 offers in exceptional instances; however, typically two or three offers are necessary to achieve a successful letting on the majority of our housing stock. As can be appreciated this is somewhat resource and time consuming. The DoEHLG in its guidance document on the preparation of the allocation scheme required the introduction of a Choice Based Letting scheme (CBL) within the scheme.
This Council had in July 2010 introduced a pilot scheme of Choice Based lettings (CBL) to test the process. This scheme has proven to be successful as a pilot and the Council is now going to implement it as the principal form of social housing allocation. Currently a new computer system to process housing applicant expressions of interest and to manage the process of selecting the appropriate applicant for the advertised dwellings is in the final stages of testing.
Choice Based Lettings will be introduced to housing list applicants, initially to those with a requirement for three bedroom dwellings. This will give applicants an opportunity to bid for a tenancy in a standard council dwelling which is currently available in their stated areas of preference. They will be invited to express an interest in taking a tenancy of an available council dwelling electronically and the dwelling will be allocated to the applicant who is highest on the waiting list of those who have expressed an interest.
Most Voluntary Housing Associations have indicated that they would be happy to have their own units allocated in this manner rather than the Council providing list of nominees to them.
The Council will continue to make offers in certain circumstances i.e. to applicants in need of special adapted dwellings, older persons dwellings, priority cases and transfers.
The most recent assessment of housing need regulations now confine applicants to only one Local Authority. They can however express an interest in 3 areas one of which must be in the LA jurisdiction of the application. They are however also permitted to express an interest in an area in one of the other Dublin LA’s. To enable this to work it is proposed to reduce the number of housing areas in this county to 2. North and South of the Naas Road. This has been agreed with the special all party meeting established by the Council to advise on changes needed for the new allocation scheme.
RAS Transfer List
RAS tenants who were allocated the tenancy prior to 01/08/2010 were informed that they may be permitted to stay on the housing list and would in the normal course of events be made an allocation offer of standard Council accommodation when reached on the housing list. On 01/10/2011 such tenants will no longer be included in the list. Regulations introduced by the Department provides that the new allocation scheme, referred to above, makes provision for a special transfer list (pathway) for those RAS tenants who wish to be considered for standard housing and it is proposed to write to all RAS tenants offering them the opportunity of inclusion on that transfer list if they wish to be so included.
New Methods of Procurement:
Leasing (The Social Housing Leasing Initiative)----rather than the traditional method of providing social housing by buying land and building council estates housing authorities will now lease properties for use as social housing. One of the main benefits of this method of provision is that it affords the opportunity to promote social integration through managed tenure mix by “salt and peppering” social housing in private housing estates with an upper threshold.
RAS----A version of leasing and the precursor of Leasing which may be availed of only by those who have been in receipt of rent supplement for at least 18 months. Homes procured by lease or under the RAS initiative are now legally defined to be council/social housing along with traditional council housing stock and voluntary housing.
ASH—Applicant Sourced Homes---Under this initiative applicants are invited to source the home of their choice in an area of their choice and, provided agreement can be reached with the owner, that home will be leased for their use. This initiative is being rolled out in manageable tranches by working our way to the housing waiting list.
It is similar to the current rent supplement arrangements but managed and funded by the Council rather than the Community Welfare Service. The outcome for the client is exactly the same, a home of their choice in an area of their choice. For those housing applicants in receipt of rent supplement they may choose to stay living in their existing home, subject to it being possible to reach an agreement with their landlord.
It must be stressed that RAS, ASH and CBL are being implemented strictly in accordance with the housing waiting list i.e. by working our way through the housing waiting list in order of applicants’ positions on that list.