One hundred submissions under Tenant In Situ Scheme in Mayo

ONE hundred submissions have been received by Mayo County Council under the Tenant In Situ Scheme, where local authorities can buy houses where a tenant has been issued with a notice to quit.

There is an online application process open since March, with 100 applications made to date.

Of those, 54 are where a HAP or RAS housing payment tenant is in situ. A number of them have a notice to quit in place.

Some 46 properties have no social housing tenants in them or are vacant and the council will not be purchasing them.

So far, the council has confirmed interest in buying 10 properties and has turned down a further nine as the local authority has other housing options for those families.

Councillor Christy Hyland asked how many notices to quit have issued to tenants who are receiving a housing support payment such as HAP or RAS. The figure, he was told, is 41.

The councillor was concerned that the department had capped what the council could spend on buying a house under the scheme. Properties in his district - west Mayo - were significantly more expensive than in other parts of the county.

He was told homes have been bought in the area under the units limit, and the council can make a special case where required to the department, which they have done.