Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage statement on Funding for Tenant-in-Situ in 2025 in Carlow & Kilkenny

The Minister states:

Tenancy sustainment, or tenant-in-situ, is a priority category under my Department's Second Hand Acquisitions Programme. It is not a scheme, but a policy tool available to local authorities to prevent social housing supported households in the private rented sector from falling into homelessness. It should only be used as a last resort by local authorities when all other options have been exhausted.

In 2025, €3.5m was allocated to Carlow Co. Co. which was fully drawn down along with an additional €101,419.

Kilkenny Co. Co. also received an allocation of €3.5m in 2025 of which €826,678 recouped.

Funding for the Second Hand Acquisitions Programme will be agreed later this year, with individual allocations notified to local authorities as soon possible thereafter.

In the meantime, local authorities have been authorised to enter into commitments for 2026 to a value of up to 30% of their original 2025 acquisitions budget. This effectively provides for a multi-annual approach to programme delivery, facilitating local authorities to plan and progress acquisitions from one year to the next with a higher level of certainty vis-à-vis future funding availability.

For Carlow and Kilkenny Co. Co.’s, this provides scope to commit €1,050,000 to acquisitions that are likely to only complete and drawdown in 2026, including acquisitions to support exits from homelessness, tenancy sustainment via tenant in situ, and other priority cohorts such as older persons, persons with disabilities, care leavers, etc.

That said, I expect the 2026 programme to maintain support for tenant in situ acquisitions as a last resort policy tool available to local authorities to prevent social housing supported households in the private rental sector from becoming homeless.