Days of council semi-d in Kildare 'are gone'

An EDUCATION programme may be necessary to manage expectation on the kind of social housing available, councillors heard at the July meeting of Kildare County Council.

The reference followed a comment about refusals of offers of housing, during discussion of a motion from Cllr Aidan Farrelly seeking information on the process of reallocating vacating housing stock, and the costs involved. The report noted, inter alia, that one in five of offers of Council-owned or leased properties were refused by housing applicants in 2023.

Cllr Ivan Keatley said an increasing rate of turndowns is 'extraordinary' and one would like to see that go in the other direction.

Cllr Chris Pender asked if there was a breakdown on the reasons for refusal? "Often, the offers may not be suitable for the family needs or location," he suggested.

Annette Aspell, director of services for housing and regeneration, said that unsuitability for needs is “definitely not the case”.

"Applicants are assessed on their needs and preferred location, and offers are made on that basis," she told the meeting. "One of the reasons is that we are allocating apartments. That's because planning is delivering apartments. The days of the traditional three-bed semi council house are gone, we do need to do some education in terms of what people need to expect."

She also said applicants don't always update their applications as their family situations change, and they need to do that.

The report showed that the average re-letting time for council vacant properties is 51 weeks, with average preparation costs for re-letting being €42,545. The average vacancy rate is 2.5 per cent across the total stock of 6,466 units, and the report noted this is considered low compared to the 21.5 per cent vacancy rate in the private rental market in the county as recorded in the 2022 Census.

Speaking to his motion, cllr Farrelly said the re-letting time in Kildare appeared to be quite slow, and the costs high, but he complimented the report on putting this perception into context.

Ms Aspell said that when working for a re-letting, the council is 'future-proofing' the properties.

"In relation to turnaround time, it's more than a lick of paint, we have a responsibility to make sure the property is up to full rental standard."

The report also noted constraints related to construction costs, availability of contractors, and recruitment and retention of the council's own technical staff.

Cllr Farrelly thanked the officials for the 'very comprehensive' report. "I'm genuinely much more informed now."