Council to change social housing rules

Dublin City Council plans to change its system for allocating social housing in a move that will prioritise single parents, but will stop adult children from automatically inheriting their parent's council flat or house.

The council is seeking approval from the Department of the Environment for the new scheme which will make widespread changes to the system of prioritising those most in need of rental accommodation.

The council's method of allocating housing is based on a dual system of prioritisation and points allocation. The council has defined 11 categories of people who it considers have a particular pressing need for housing. These include the homeless, those living in unfit housing, those with exceptional medical circumstances and the elderly - particularly when surrendering larger accommodation.

Applicants are awarded points dependent on their individual circumstances, such as number of children, bedroom shortages, time on the waiting list, or lack of facilities in current accommodation. Points are used to move up the housing list. Possibly the most significant change relates to the allocation of points based on family size. Until now applicants were allocated five points for themselves and three points per child, but an additional 20 points for listing a partner or spouse.

The council said there has been a growing number of challenges taken against it to the Equality Commissioner and it has now decided to eliminate the weighting in favour of two-parent families. From now on each member of the household will be allocated 20 points, a change which councillors say will benefit single mothers. "That provision had been a big bugbear, particularly for women who were alone with children, but this change will do away with a serious inequality in the system," Fianna Fáil councillor Mary Fitzpatrick said.

Another reform, which may not appeal to tenants, is that adults will not have grounds for succession (inheriting a tenancy) if their parents move out of a council house or flat into private accommodation. "Where tenants are vacating a council dwelling, as they are in a position to provide their own private accommodation, a surrender of tenancy is deemed to be for vacant possession of the dwelling and all family members are expected to vacate," the new provision states.

This would stop those who have sufficient resources to pay for private accommodation from keeping a council property in the family, particularly in cases where people have amassed considerable wealth. However, the council said it will continue to consider applications on an individual basis.

A new provision is to be introduced to stop prospective tenants from refusing what the council sees as a "reasonable offer" of accommodation. The council has invested in several new housing developments in recent years and is experiencing an increasing number of refusals in relation to its older housing stock. The council intends to put applications on hold for up to a year if the applicant has refused three offers of accommodation without a satisfactory explanation.

The council said it is seeing an increasing number of applicants who had a private property, but can no longer afford to keep it. Previously it did award priority status to those who couldn't afford to keep their house through death of a partner, serious illness or unemployment. This will now be extended to cover those needing housing because of divorce or separation, or when there has been an enforced sale.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times