COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, July 10, 2023

QUESTION NO.26

QUESTION: Councillor F. Timmons

To ask the Chief executive how long is the process taking of purchasing homes for tenants in situ by SDCC where the landlord is selling the property?

REPLY:

Where expressions of interest are received from property owners, various standard due diligence checks are undertaken in relation to property condition, valuation and conveyancing and the general steps in the process are as follows:

• Determine the housing need status of the household;
• Determine the validity and timelines of the Notice of Termination;
• Explore options for suitable alternative accommodation where possible;
• Arrange a property condition survey and property valuation;
• Commence negotiation on acquisition price for the property;
• Where the sale price is agreed the Council’s Law Department commence and complete the conveyancing process.

Individual property purchases can be delayed for various reasons such as the owner not having full legal title, various planning issues, outstanding property taxes, general contractual conditions of sale not in place etc. and the process is also reliant timely progress from the vendor’s legal and sales agents, so timeframes vary from purchase to purchase. However, the Council has temporarily assigned additional resources to this work area from elsewhere within the Housing, Social and Community Development directorate and we are also procuring additional external technical resources to ensure that the existing potential acquisitions are progressed as promptly as possible. The level of activity and resource requirements for tenant in-situ purchases will continue to be reviewed in conjunction with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in the coming months to ensure that we are able to prevent homelessness where possible.