Rented housing standards, supply and access
The Minister referred to existing commitments on housing standards and supply, and said access is governed by local-authority letting-priority schemes under the 1966 Act, including need arising from unfitness, overcrowding or medical reasons.
asked the Minister for the Environment if it is the Government's intention to ensure the maintenance and improvement of local authority rented accommodation in terms of standard, supply and access.
Comment on this
As regards the standard of new local authority housing, I would refer the Deputy to my reply to his Question No. 22 of 3 November last in which, inter alia, I informed him that the Government's aim in both the private and public housing sectors is to ensure a high quality of construction and environmental standards. With regard to the supply of new local authority rented dwellings, I would refer the Deputy to my reply today to his Question No. 2 and Deputy Quinn's No. 1 about the anticipated level of output of local authority dwellings.
As regards access to local authority rented accommodation, eligibility for rehousing by local authorities is governed by the authorities' approved schemes of letting priorities. Access to dwellings in the physical sense is determined by the construction and environmental standards to which I have already referred.
On the question of existing local authority rented accommodation, this is primarily the concern of each local authority who are responsible for the maintenance, improvement and management of their housing estates. For this purpose the authorities may retain their income from rents and miscellaneous receipts and 60 per cent of the proceeds from sales of their houses to tenants.
Comment on this
Would the Minister elaborate on the question of access, particularly in reference to Government policy in the White Paper in which it is stated that it is intended to examine circumstances of housing applicants in more detail to determine priority needs? Would he explain the greater degree of scrutiny that will come about in regard to housing applications?
Comment on this
On the question of access, I presume the Deputy is referring to eligibility for local authority housing. Eligibility will continue to be governed by the criteria in each local authority scheme of letting priorities specified in section 60 of the 1966 Housing Act. These include unfitness, overcrowding, medical reasons and so forth of applicants who are unable to rehouse themselves from their own resources.