€110m to Dublin City Council for preventing families falling into homelessness
Dublin City Council has been allocated €110.7 million towards the acquisition of second-hand homes for social housing.
This comes as Minister Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne announces that €373 million will be made available nationally to local authorities under the 2026 Second Hand Social Housing Acquisitions Programme. This exceeds by more than €80m the €290m funding drawn down by local authorities in 2025
Lord Mayor Councillor Ray McAdam welcomed this “significant investment in our city” which will include dedicated funding to continue the Tenant in Situ scheme . He said that this will act as a “vital support for many families facing the loss of their rented home.” The total funding includes €150 million ring fenced for acquisitions that will support households to exit long-term homeless accommodation and €50m for Approved Housing Bodies (AHB) to provide accommodation for elderly or disabled persons and care leavers.
“At a time when too many households are living with uncertainty, this funding provides us with a practical tool to prevent homelessness, to support exits from long term homeless accommodation, and to protect vulnerable tenants. I particularly welcome the ring-fenced funding aimed at supporting households in the most precarious circumstances , as well as the funding available to Approved Housing Bodies to provide homes for older people, people with disabilities and care leavers,” Lord Mayor McAdam stated.
The Lord Mayor stressed that "acquisitions should not replace building” and that the long-term answer to the housing crisis is to “accelerate the delivery of new social and affordable homes at scale.” He said that this funding comes in addition to the council increasing construction output “across our communities, and that momentum must continue.”
“However, while we build, we must also act. The second-hand acquisitions programme, including Tenant in Situ, remains an essential measure to stabilise lives and keep families in their communities. It allows us to respond quickly where there is real and immediate need,” he said.
“As Lord Mayor, I will continue to press for every available lever to be used to tackle housing need in our city. This allocation of €110.7 million gives Dublin City Council the capacity to intervene where it matters most. Now we must ensure that the funding is fully drawn down and translated into secure homes for Dubliners who need them most.”
Mr Browne said that this acquisitions programme targets the pressing need for housing across the country and “largely operates as a last resort” for councils to ensure “that households in the most precarious of housing situations can be protected.” He said the first of local authorities should always be to build more social housing and that, as that momentum builds “the need for housing acquisitions should drop away.”
There will also be a contingency of almost €16 million withheld, to support local authorities likely to draw down their full allocations and with capacity to progress further acquisitions and draw down funding from the Department this year. Just like last year, local authorities will be authorised to commit up to 30% of the value of this year’s base allocation for acquisitions that will likely only complete in 2027, continuing the multi-annual approach to funding activity.
The eligibility criteria introduced in 2025 for tenant in situ acquisitions will be retained with a further condition added that Tenant-in-Situ acquisitions will not be permitted for households that have refused a reasonable offer of local authority or AHB social housing accommodation following receipt of Notice of Termination.
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