Mayo County Council is coming under pressure from the Department of Environment to get the new social housing leasing scheme up and running, despite the protestations of both the council officials and members about the scheme.
Paul Benson, senior executive officer with Mayo County Council, told the September meeting of the Ballina Electoral Area committee: “We’re no fans of this scheme, but we have to start implementing it. We have taken on a small number of short term leases for this project, but pressure is coming on from the Department to enter into long term leases with landlords.”
Mr Benson outlined some of the reasons that the council is not in favour of this scheme. “We have gone into short term leases with landlords in the few places we have entered into the scheme, because we could have a situation where we get a house back from a tenant and it needs work done that we are liable for and we can’t rent it out again for a while, or we can’t get a tenant, for the council will still have to pay the landlord for the lease and it will be not be used by us.”
Independent councillor Gerry Ginty praised the council for the way it has handled the scheme so far saying, “I compliment the council on only taking on short term leases in this scheme so far, because it’s a bad scheme and one that was only designed to help out builders by the former government and being followed through by the current one.”
Call put out for housing repair grant applicants to get work done
Mr Benson also told the meeting that the council had approved grants for applicants received up to the end of April this year under the housing repair grant scheme, which was welcomed by the members. But he called on all those who have been approved to get the work started on their homes, because if they did not it would see people who are in need and ready to get going delayed by a pile of applications waiting to be approved by the council.
