Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009

PART 1 PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

1. Short title, collective citation, construction and commencement.

1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.

(2) The Housing Acts 1966 to 2004 and this Act (other than section 100) may be cited together as the Housing Acts 1966 to 2009 and shall be construed together as one Act.

(3) Section 100 and, in so far as it relates to that section, this section shall be construed as one with the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 and 2009 and shall be included in the collective citation “Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 and 2009”.

(4) This Act (other than section 100) comes into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions, including the application of section 7 or 8 to different enactments specified in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 and to different provisions of those enactments.

2. Interpretation.

2.— (1) In this Act—

“Act of 1988” means the Housing Act 1988;

“Act of 1992” means the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992;

“Act of 1997” means the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997;

“Act of 2002” means the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002;

“affordable housing” means F1[affordable dwellings within the meaning of section 4 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 purchased under Part 2 of that Act] or affordable housing provided under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 or Part 2 of the Act of 2002, as the case may be;

“allocation scheme” has the meaning given to it by section 22;

“anti-social behaviour” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Act of 1997;

“approved body” means a body standing approved of for the purposes of section 6 of the Act of 1992;

“caravan” has the same meaning as in section 13 of the Act of 1988;

“Chapter 4 tenancy agreement” has the meaning given to it by section 25 and references to “Chapter 4 tenancy” shall be construed accordingly;

F2[“chief executive”means, as respects a local authority, a chief executive as provided for by Chapter 2 of Part 14 (as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014) of theLocal Government Act 2001;]

“development plan” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the F3[Planning and Development Act 2024];

“dwelling” includes any building or part of a building occupied or intended for occupation as a normal place of residence and includes any out-office, yard, garden or other land appurtenant thereto or usually enjoyed therewith and includes a house, flat, apartment, maisonette or hostel;

“estate management” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Act of 1997;

“executive function” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Local Government Act 2001;

“homelessness action plan” has the meaning given to it by section 37;

“homelessness consultative forum” has the meaning given to it by section 38;

“homeless person” means a person who is regarded by a housing authority as being homeless within the meaning of section 2 of the Act of 1988 and “homeless” and “homeless household” shall be construed accordingly;

“joint homelessness consultative forum” shall be read in accordance with section 38;

“household” means, subject to sections 20 and 84, a person who lives alone or 2 or more persons who live together;

“housing action programme” has the meaning given to it by section 18;

F4[…]

“housing services” shall be read in accordance with section 10;

“housing services plan” has the meaning given to it by section 14;

“housing strategy” has the same meaning as in F3[section 2 of the Planning and Development Act 2024];

“housing support” shall be read in accordance with section 10 (a);

F5[“local authority”means a local authority for the purposes of theLocal Government Act 2001(as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014);]

F4[…]

“market rent” has the same meaning as in section 24 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004;

“material improvements” F1[means improvements made to a dwelling sold under an incremental purchase arrangement under Part 3];

whether for the purposes of extending, enlarging, repairing or converting the dwelling, but does not include decoration, or any improvements carried out on the land including the construction of the dwelling;

“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“Principal Act” means the Housing Act 1966;

“public private partnership arrangement” has the same meaning as in section 3 of the State Authorities (Public Private Partnership Arrangements) Act 2002;

“refurbishment” in relation to a dwelling or other building, includes the enlargement, improvement, adaptation or reconstruction of such dwelling or other building;

“rental accommodation availability agreement” has the meaning given to it by section 24;

“rent scheme” has the meaning given to it by section 31;

F5[“reserved function”means a reserved function for the purposes of theLocal Government Act 2001(as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014);]

“social housing assessment” has the meaning given to it by section 20;

“social housing support” shall be read in accordance with section 19.

(2) F4[…]

3. Regulations.

3.— (1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed or to be the subject of regulations or for the purpose of enabling any of its provisions to have full effect.

(2) Regulations made under this Act may—

(a) contain such incidental, supplementary, consequential or transitional provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary for the purposes of the regulations, and

(b) may be expressed to apply either generally or to specified housing authorities or areas or to housing authorities, areas, apartment complexes (within the meaning of section 50), dwellings, tenancies, loans, mortgages, persons, households, works or any other matter of a specified class or classes, denoted by reference to such matters to which the provision or provisions of this Act under which the regulations are made relate, as the Minister considers appropriate, and different provisions of such regulations may be expressed to apply in relation to different housing authorities or areas or different classes of housing authorities, areas, apartment complexes (within the meaning of section 50), dwellings, tenancies, loans, mortgages, persons, households, works or other matters.

(3) Every regulation under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it has been made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

4. Ministerial directions.

4.— (1) The Minister may, from time to time, as he or she considers appropriate, give general policy directions in writing to a housing authority in relation to the performance by the housing authority of any of its functions under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2009 and the housing authority shall comply with any such directions.

(2) The Minister may, by direction in writing, revoke or amend a direction under subsection (1), including a direction under this subsection.

(3) Whenever the Minister gives a direction under this section, he or she shall publish the direction or cause it to be published in the manner he or she considers appropriate.

(4) A housing authority shall make available for inspection by members of the public, without charge, on the Internet and at its offices and such other places as it considers appropriate, during normal working hours, a copy of any direction given to it under this section.

5. Guidelines.

5.— (1) The Minister may, from time to time, as he or she considers appropriate, issue to housing authorities such guidelines in relation to the performance of their functions under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2009 as he or she considers appropriate and housing authorities shall have regard to such guidelines in the performance of those functions.

(2) The Minister shall publish or cause to be published, in the manner he or she considers appropriate, any guidelines issued under this section.

(3) A housing authority shall make available for inspection by members of the public, without charge, on the Internet and at its offices and such other places as it considers appropriate, during normal working hours, a copy of any guidelines issued to it under this section.

6. Limitation on Ministerial power.

6.— Without prejudice to section 12, sections 4and 5 shall not be construed as enabling the Minister to exercise any power or control in relation to any particular case with which a housing authority is or may be concerned.

7. Repeals.

7.— The Acts specified in column (3) of Schedule 1 are repealed to the extent specified in column (4) of that Schedule.

8. Consequential amendments.

8.— The Acts specified in Schedule 2 are amended as indicated in that Schedule.

9. Expenses.

9.— The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART 2 FUNCTIONS OF HOUSING AUTHORITIES

Chapter 1

10. Provision of housing services.

10.— In performing its functions under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2009, a housing authority may provide housing services, including, but not necessarily limited to, all or any of the following—

(a) housing support provided to households for the purposes of meeting their accommodation needs, including:

(i) social housing support;

(ii) affordable housing;

(iii) the granting of shared ownership leases under section 3 of the Act of 1992;

F7[(iv) the sale, or consent to the sale, of a dwelling under section 90(1)(b) of the Principal Act to a person other than another housing authority;]

(v) subsidies payable under section 4 of the Act of 1992 or section 7 of the Act of 2002;

(vi) loans made under section 11 of the Act of 1992 or section 25(1) of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998;

(vii) grants for works of improvement or adaptation to houses under section 5 of the Act of 1992;

(viii) grants and other assistance for the provision of new houses or improvement works to houses under section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1979;

(ix) services provided to homeless persons under section 10 of the Act of 1988;

(x) the provision of sites under section 57 of the Principal Act,

(b) assistance, other than financial assistance or housing support, provided—

(i) in accordance with a homelessness action plan to households that were formerly homeless before their occupation of their current accommodation and, in the opinion of the housing authority, such assistance is necessary for the purposes of supporting those households in remaining in occupation of that accommodation, or

(ii) to tenants of dwellings to which section 31 (1) applies,

(c) the management, maintenance and refurbishment under section 28 of any dwelling, building or land of which the housing authority is the owner or which is under its F8[management and control,]

(d) the reconstruction or improvement under section 12 of the Act of 1988 of certain houses provided by F8[housing authorities, and]

F9[(e) cost rental dwellings within the meaning of Part 3 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021.]

11. Provision of ancillary services.

11.— (1) In this section “ancillary services” include roads, shops, facilities for the benefit of the community (including health and leisure facilities), playgrounds, places of recreation, parks, allotments, open spaces, sites for places of worship, factories, schools, offices and other buildings or land and other such works or services, as will, in the opinion of a housing authority, serve a beneficial purpose either in connection with the requirements of the households for which the dwellings concerned are provided or in connection with the requirements of other households.

(2) In providing housing services and in connection with dwellings provided, to be provided or which, in the opinion of the housing authority will in the future require to be provided, a housing authority may provide and, if it considers appropriate, maintain in good order and repair, the ancillary services.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)—

(a) reference to the provision of dwellings includes dwellings provided, or maintained, on behalf of a housing authority pursuant to arrangements with an approved body, or public private partnership arrangements, and

(b) reference to the provision and maintenance of ancillary services includes ancillary services provided pursuant to arrangements with an approved body, or public private partnership arrangements.

12. Funding for housing services.

12.— (1) The Minister may, for the purposes of the provision of housing services, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, pay to a housing authority, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, a grant or subsidy in respect of all or any one or more of the following:

(a) the provision of dwellings or sites by the authority;

(b) the refurbishment of dwellings provided by the authority;

(c) the provision of caravans, or the provision, improvement or management by the authority of sites for caravans referred to in section 13 of the Act of 1988 for persons to whom that section applies;

(d) the acquisition of land for the provision of dwellings or sites;

(e) the provision of ancillary services in connection with the provision or improvement of dwellings or sites;

(f) subject to such regulations as may be made under this section, the provision of assistance to an approved body under section 6 of the Act of 1992;

(g) such measures as may be taken by the housing authority pursuant to its housing services plan for the purposes of improving its housing services;

(h) such measures as may be taken by the housing authority pursuant to its homelessness action plan relating to the provision of assistance under section 10 (b) (i).

(2) A grant or subsidy shall not be paid under this section in respect of a dwelling, site or works unless the relevant dwelling, site or works comply on completion with such conditions, if any, as may, from time to time, be determined by the Minister for the purposes of this section in relation to standards of construction and works and the provision of water, sewerage and other services in dwellings or to sites.

(3) A subsidy under subsection (1) in respect of loan charges incurred in the provision of any of the housing services referred to in that subsection may be made either to the housing authority concerned or, on its behalf, to the person who made the relevant loan in respect of which the loan charges were incurred.

(4) The Minister may make regulations in relation to the payment of a grant or subsidy under subsection (1) (f) providing for all or any one or more of the following:

(a) the class or classes of accommodation in respect of which the grant or subsidy may be paid and the class or classes of households for whom such accommodation is provided;

(b) the amount of the grant or subsidy;

(c) requirements in relation to—

(i) the assistance in respect of which the grant or subsidy may be paid,

(ii) the payment of the grant or subsidy,

(iii) the financial and other circumstances of households occupying accommodation in respect of which the grant or subsidy may be paid,

(iv) the occupation and maintenance of accommodation in respect of which the grant or subsidy may be paid,

(v) the floor area of accommodation in respect of which the grant or subsidy may be paid, measured in such manner as may, from time to time, be determined by the Minister,

(vi) standards of construction, works and repair and the availability in accommodation, in respect of which the grant or subsidy may be paid, of water, sewerage and other services, and

(vii) the payment under any enactment (including this Act) of any other grant, subsidy or assistance in respect of the accommodation concerned.

13. Housing authority resources.

13.— Any moneys accruing to a housing authority from—

(a) the sale of a dwelling owned by the authority, including a sale under section 90 of the Principal Act F10[,Part 3or4of this Act or Part 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014],

(b) the resale of a dwelling under section 48 or 76 F11[orsection 29of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014],

(c) an approved body in respect of the resale of a dwelling referred to in paragraph (b),

(d) payments in respect of any amounts outstanding under section 47 or 75 F12[orsection 27of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014], as the case may be,

(e) the resale of a dwelling under section 9 of the Act of 2002,

(f) the purchase of the interest of the housing authority or the sale of a dwelling, as the case may be, under section 10 of the Act of 2002,

(g) the resale of certain sites, or dwellings on such sites, under section 98, or

(h) the repayment of a grant to which section 99 applies,

shall be accounted for by the housing authority in a separate account and, subject to the prior approval of the Minister, may be used for the provision of housing or for the refurbishment or maintenance of existing housing, or any other related purposes.

Chapter 2

14. Obligation to make housing services plan.

14.— (1) Each housing authority shall make a plan (in this Act referred to as a “housing services plan”) setting out the objectives which the housing authority considers to be reasonable and necessary for the provision of housing services having regard to the requirements of the housing strategy or strategies relating to housing supports for its administrative area.