How to Apply for local authority housing In Ireland

Apply for local authority housing In Ireland By Online

To apply for housing with local authority to apply for housing, contact for the Housing Department of your local authority. If you are looking for accommodation offered by an association for housing, you can apply directly to the appropriate housing association.

Eligibility

In order to be considered an eligible applicant for social housing, you must meet the income requirement.
It is also necessary to prove that you do not have alternative accommodation.
Income requirements Income criteria: Income criteria: The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has released a comprehensive guideline (pdf) regarding how the household’s income should be evaluated in local government authorities. There are three maximum income thresholds for various housing authorities. The Department has released the table displaying these net income maximums (pdf).
Alternative accommodation: You’ll be considered to have an alternative housing if one of the members of the household owns an item that the household can reasonably reside in. This is also the case for properties that are being let out for rental (under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 , you may terminate the tenancy in case the household requires the house to reside in.)

A property cannot be considered to be an alternative accommodation in the following situations:

It is used by someone who has been divorced or legally separated from the household member or who’s civil partnership with an individual in the household was dissolved.
It would be crowded If the household lived there
It is incompatible with humans to live in.
It wouldn’t be able to adequately accommodate the needs of a household member who has disabilities.

Other housing measures are also eligible.

After you have been registered on the listing of houses, you could be eligible for additional housing options, such as housing associations and shared ownership. You may also be eligible for low-cost housing sites or improvement works instead of local authority housing an improvement loan from the local authority or mortgage from a local authority as well as local authority mortgages or the Affordable Housing Scheme.
In the Incremental Purchase Scheme, you could apply to purchase a brand new home with an authority in your area or a reputable housing authority at a discounted price.
If you reside in a private rental accommodation and are waiting for housing from local authorities You may be qualified for the Rent Supplement.

Instructions

From April 1st, 2011 The Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 define how housing authorities must manage the applications for social housing. The initial income thresholds were raised with amendments to the Social Housing Assessment (Amendment) Regulations of 2011.

The major changes made by these Regulations Include:

You are only able to apply for only one housing authority.
It is generally the case that you should be a resident of the territory covered by the Housing Authority or you must have direct connection to the area, however, a housing authority might decide to exempt you from this requirement.
You can only be considered as a social housing applicant If your household’s income is below the minimum threshold to the housing authority’s zone.

As of July 1, 2011 The Social Housing Assessment (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations of 2011 have introduced certain changes to the regulations. One of the changes allows for the unsustainableness of a mortgage for a current household to be taken into account in determining the need of the household for social housing . See the section titled “Need” below.

Rules

In order to be qualified to be considered eligible, you must meet the criteria to receive social housing and are in need of housing for social purposes.

Your housing authorities evaluate your eligibility in the first place.
It will determine if you require social housing after it has determined you to be qualified

Foreign nationals: You must have the legal right to stay in the State for a longer period of time. The specific rules are in Circular Housing 47/2011.

You’ll need it!

When determining if your family members are in need of social housing, the housing authority has to be aware of the following concerns with regard to your current housing situation:

Does it have to be an institution or hostel, emergency accommodation, or a school?
Is it crowded?
Are they suitable for human use?
Is it in compliance with the accommodations needs of a family member who is disabled?
If the property is shared with a different household, do you have sufficient reasons to require an individual residence?
Does it not provide your family members to have adequate housing in any other way in light of particular family circumstances, or extraordinary medical or compassionate reasons?

Then, it was added by and added by the Social Housing Assessment (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2011 Does your home’s mortgage been declared not sustainable as a result of the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) established by the Central Bank?

Locations to choose from

You are able to indicate up to three locations in which you’d like to reside. The first one must be located in the area that is managed by the local authority you are applying for (its functional zone) and the remaining areas must be located in the functional area or in of the exact county. If you don’t reside in or have a relationship to the housing authority’s functional area, however the authority has accepted your application however, you are only able to select regions within the specific authority’s functional area.
The Social Housing Assessment (Amendment) (No. 2.) Regulations bring up-to-date some of the specific rules pertaining to the areas of choice and changes in mind.

Waiting lists for housing

If you are deemed by the local housing authorities that you are qualified to and in need of housing, you are put on the waiting list, which is now known as a list of households with a qualifying household as well as the authority is also required to notify any other authority which you have selected a specific area.
Every housing authority has their own rules to determine the what priority should be given to those on the wait list. These are referred to as the schemes of letting prioritization. You can request the copy from your local housing authority. Some housing authorities use points systems, which award each household listed the number of points based on its specific circumstances.
If you’d like to find out your place in the wait list inquire with for the information from your local housing authorities. Your position could go up or down based on the conditions of the other applicants who are on the waitlist as well when your personal circumstances change. In the real world the majority of cases, priority is given to older persons and families instead of single individuals or couples with no children.

Housing allocation

When houses and flats are made available for rental and are rented out, they are allocated to those on the waiting list by priority and taking into account the specific circumstances.
If the housing authority intends to provide accommodation to you it should review its evaluation of your household’s ability to qualify and your need to provide social housing. Also, it must confirm that your application remains valid with regard to the location and location of your choice.
If you’re offered a home or apartment which you do not wish to purchase You can decline it. But, if the local authority believes that you don’t have a valid reason to reject the offer, they may decrease your place to be on the list of waiting applicants, especially when you reject multiple offers.
Local authority homes are not furnished. If you’re provided with a local authority house and you don’t have the funds to purchase furniture or other appliances, you could be eligible for assistance from the Representative of the Department of Social Protection (formerly called the Community Welfare Officer) in the local health center.

Refusal to assign housing

If you or one of your household members was previously in housing provided by local authorities the housing authority won’t provide housing to you when you or a household member is:

(a) damaged a home or site previously provided by a housing authority, and without repairing the property or making repairs

(b) breached the conditions of a local authority tenancy agreement, resulting in the authority rescinding the tenancy

(c) Rent accrued arrears of 12 weeks or more over three years as a tenant of a local authority and without making arrangements to pay them or to pay them.

However however, the Social Housing Assessment (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations permit the housing authority, under certain circumstances, to look into the possibility of providing support for housing in social housing for households who are in (a) (a) or (b) over.

Rents

Local authorities’ rents are determined by the concept of ‘differential rents’. This means that rent is determined by the ability of you to pay it the rent, which means that if your earnings is not high the rent will be lower; and when your income grows and so does your rent. The earnings of other household members will be included in the calculation of rent and there could be deductions for children who are part of your family. Each local authority has their own rent scheme.
Your local authority could have a minimum or maximum rent that will be contingent upon the dimensions of your house. There’s also a hardship clause that allows local authorities the power to decrease the rent when there are certain reasons for this.
If your earnings or the income of someone within your household is changing You must notify the local authorities.

Documentation is needed

The local authorities serve as the principal suppliers of social housing, as well as housing authority for those who are unable to afford their own houses. Housing in local authorities is distributed depending on eligibility and the need. Rents are determined based on capacity of the household to pay.

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