Date: 20 Dec 2024
Approved Housing Body project, Letterkenny
Following receipt of queries in relation to the allocation of houses in a development in Letterkenny, Donegal County Council wishes to advise as follows.
The development in question is not being acquired by the Council. It is a private development being acquired by an Approved Housing Body. Approved Housing Bodies build and acquire houses with funding support from the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage. Local authorities act as agents of the Department locally, and the AHBs would work through the local authority in the first instance. The process has worked very well in Donegal over the years with over 1,000 houses having been provided.
One of the conditions of funding is that the houses are allocated to households on the social housing waiting list. In this regard, there is a process in place whereby the AHB allocates the tenancies to those highest placed on the local authority waiting list. In this instance, the AHB issued letters of allocation to households before all the due diligence had been satisfied in respect of the drawdown of Department funding. This funding drawdown process has not yet been completed.
The Council understands that the AHB is now delaying the handing out of keys pending completion of the funding process. The Council is disappointed that the AHB issued such allocation letters prematurely, thus creating an expectation for the households who have received them. The Council has sought an urgent meeting with the senior officials of the AHB to discuss the matter. The Council has already commenced making contact with the households who have been offered the houses, in order to brief them on the situation.
