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Housing and Building

 The Housing Section of Sligo County Council provides a number of very important services, covering every aspect of social housing:
Outlined below are some of the specific Housing Services that Sligo County Council provides.
2009 proved to be a very challenging year for the Housing Section of Sligo County Council. This was due to the current economic climate, which affected the housing market, and the financial allocation received from the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and an increase in the number of applications for social housing. 

HOUSING CONSTRUCTION

As a result of the reduced financial allocation from the Department, the Housing Section has made every effort to complete existing schemes and to provide opportunities for those who are most in need on the housing list.

HOUSING CONSTRUCTION

The Housing Capital Allocation for 2009 was €11,500,000, which was made up as follows:
During 2009, the Council completed a housing scheme at Mountain Road, Tubbercurry, comprising of 18 units of accommodation.
The Council has always had a policy of purchasing houses on the open market where the houses represent value for money and where a demand exists. Two houses were purchased on the open market in 2009 and, in addition, work commenced on two rural houses during the year.
     

PART V

In recent years where house ownership has become more difficult for households to achieve due to the increasing price of housing, Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, has proved an invaluable source of affordable housing providing Sligo County Council with assistance in delivering the Housing Capital Programme. 
The Housing Strategy states that 20% of eligible sites, which are the subject of new residential development, are to be set aside for the development of social and affordable housing. However, the downturn in construction has resulted in a marked reduction in the number of units coming on stream.
During 2009, a number of properties became available for Social Housing in the following developments:
The associated fall off in planning applications has exacerbated this and currently one development is scheduled to deliver units post 2009, Greham & O’Dowd at Enniscrone.

HOUSING MAINTENANCE AND ESTATE IMPROVEMENTS

Since the beginning of the Planned Maintenance Programme in 2002, much progress has been made in the general upkeep of Council housing stock. Works typically include replacement of worn out doors, windows, fascias and soffits. The emergency repair funds are used to carry out repairs to housing stock other than those repairs listed in planned maintenance and deemed eligible in accordance with the Tenant Hand Book.
The Council allocated a sum of €50,000 in 2009 towards Environmental Improvements works.

RENTS

Rents are assessed and reviewed on an Annual basis. Rents, including arrears are collected by a number of different methods – Household budget deductions through the Post Office, or direct payments can be made to Sligo County Council or Sligo Borough Council. Rent payments can also be paid by Standing Order through the bank or with the local revenue collector. Rents payable on Local Authority dwellings are assessed under a Differential Rents Scheme. A Differential Rents Scheme means that the rent is based on the income of the household with deductions allowed in respect of any dependent children in the house. During the year, rents were reviewed to bring them into line with trendsin the economic climate.

HOUSING LOANS

Sligo County Council process a number of housing loans each year. From April 2009 all housing loans are now assessed and recommendations issued by the Affordable Homes Partnership which is based in Dublin. All applications are now subject to strict credit checks which are carried out by the Irish Credit Bureau.

SHARED OWNERSHIP SCHEME

This scheme offers home ownership in a number of steps to those who cannot afford full ownership in one step in the traditional way. The applicant will initially acquire a share of between 40% and 75% of the house and rents the remaining percentage from the Local Authority with the intention of purchasing the remaining equity from the Council within a 25 year period. They too, are now assessed by the AHP (Affordable Homes Partnership). 

HOME CHOICE LOANS

Home Choice Loans is a mortgage provided through a number of local authorities for First Time buyers who cannot get sufficient finance from a bank or building society.
Home Choice Loan will provide up to 92% of the market value of the house purchased.
The maximum loan amount will be €285,000. The loan is a normal Capital and Interest bearing mortgage which is repaid on a monthly basis. 
The mortgage term will be for a maximum of 30 years and will only be available for newly built homes. Galway County Council is the central processing unit for Local Authorities in this region. 

TENANT PURCHASE

Persons who have been tenants of a local authority house for a period of at least one year may apply to purchase their rented house outright or by means of Shared Ownership under the Tenant Purchase Scheme. The purchase price will be the market value of the house in its existing state of repair and condition, less various discounts. The applicant wishing to purchase their home should seek a mortgage from a financial institution.

IMPROVEMENT WORKS IN LIEU OF RE-HOUSING

This Scheme allows Sligo County Council to improve or extend privately owned houses, occupied or intended to be occupied, by an approved applicant for housing as an alternative to the provision of Local Authority Housing. Sligo County Council pays the full cost of the works and the applicant then makes repayment on the amount. These repayments are calculated in a similar manner to the Differential Rent Scheme and apply for a period of 15 years. 

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

3 no units at Carbury Cove, Sea Road, Sligo were disposed of through the new mechanism of “Direct Sales” whereby the approved applicant purchases the property directly from the developer: The delivery of Affordable units is dictated by the same constraints as that pertain to Part V in general. 

ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT

Sligo County Council introduced an Estate Enhancement Scheme for local authority housing estates in the County in 2007 and was successful in securing partial funding of €155,000, over the lifetime of the Scheme, from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government under the Sustainable Communities Fund. Designed as an annual programme, the Scheme provided investment for 15 estates over a period of three years 2007-2009.
The objectives of the Scheme are as follows:
The Council spent a sum of €100,000 on Environmental Enhancement works in 2009 to local authority estates under a programme running from 2007 to 2009. Works were carried out at
Typical works undertaken as part of the scheme include landscaping, painting, provision of garden furniture rehabilitation and cleaning up of green areas.

Outcomes:

NEW GRANTS SCHEMES

Housing Adaptation Grant Scheme for People with a Disability

The Housing Adaptation Grant Scheme for People with a Disability is available to assist in the carrying out of works which are reasonably necessary for the purpose of rendering a house more suitable for the accommodation of a person with a disability who has an enduring physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual impairment. The type of works allowable under the scheme include the provision of 
The level of grant aid available is determined on the basis of gross household income and can be between 30% - 95% of the approved cost of the works.

Mobility Aids Housing Grant Scheme

The Mobility Aids Housing Grant is available to cover a basic suite of works to address mobility problems, primarily, but not exclusively, associated with ageing. The works aided under the scheme include: 
The effective maximum grant is €6,000 or 100% of the cost of the works, whichever is the lesser. The grant is available to households whose gross annual household income does not exceed €30,000. 

Scheme of Housing Aid for Older People

The Scheme of Housing Aid for Older People is available to assist older people living in poor housing conditions to have necessary structural repairs or improvements. The type of works grant aided under the scheme includes:
The level of grant aid available is determined on the basis of gross household income and can be between 30% - 100% of the approved cost of the works.


Housing Grants Paid in 2009
GRANT NAME:NUMBER OF GRANTS PAIDTOTAL AMOUNT PAID
Housing Aid for Older People 88 €483,135.56
Housing Adaptation - Disability 54 €307,821.90
Mobility Aid Grants 32 €132,249.55
Total paid in 2009 174 €923,207.01
  

VOLUNTARY HOUSING

Voluntary Housing is provided by non-profit independent organisations that provide rented houses for people who cannot afford to buy their own houses or specific groups such as the elderly, homeless, people with special needs or disabilities. A recipient of a Voluntary house must be registered on Sligo County Council’s housing list, however, while the tenant enjoys all the rights of a County Council tenant they are unable to avail of a tenant purchase on this house.

TRAVELLER ACCOMMODATION

Sligo County Council has adopted a Traveller Accommodation Programme 2009 – 2013 which lays out the target for Traveller accommodation for that period. Sligo County Council will continue to consult with individual traveller families and traveller support groups with a view to identifying the most appropriate accommodation for individual families. 
Travellers seeking standard housing from both Housing Authorities will be accommodated, where possible, in existing or new local authority estates and applications for such housing will be processed in accordance with the Local Authority’s Scheme of Letting Priorities. 

TENANCY SUSTAINMENT SERVICE

In co-operation with voluntary groups Focus Ireland and North West Simon Community Sligo County Council provides a Tenancy Sustainment Service to tenants.
The aim of the service is to focus on practical ways to sustain tenancies, rather than seeking to solve all client problems - to support the household through the process of moving in and maintaining their home. 
This is achieved by developing a care plan between the Tenancy Sustainment Officer and the tenant. 
A Care Plan may cover any of the following issues:
The service provided by Northwest Simon Community is shared between Sligo County Council and Leitrim County Council. 
In 2009 Sligo County Council contributed an amount of €4,000 to the Northwest Simon Community.
Sligo County Council would hope to continue to support the Tenancy Sustainment Service subject to adequate funding being available. 

ENERGY EFFICIENCY WORKS SCHEME

The contract commenced to upgrade 11 No older dwelling houses in the county.
The primary objective of this exercise was to enhance the Energy performance of each of the respective dwellings to achieve a minimum rating of C1.
Works to be carried out to each of the individual units is as follows:- 
The overall cost of Contract was: €200,569.00 
Department of Environment Heritage and Local Government Energy efficiency Recoupment: 
(75% of the overall cost) €150,426.75
Internal Capital Receipts. Contribution:
(25% of the overall cost) €50,142.45
The contract was completed in December 2009.