Updated information for tenants receiving Notices to Quit
Fingal County Council is aware that households in the Fingal area who may have received a notice to quit, which is also referred to as a notice of termination, from their landlord may be worried or unsure of what to do.
Fingal County Council and the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) would like to advise anyone affected of the services that are available to them in these circumstances.
- We strongly encourage tenants residing in the Fingal area, who have been issued with a notice of termination, to contact Fingal County Council as soon as they receive a notice from their landlord. The contact details for Fingal County Council are provided at the bottom of this page.
- When the tenants contact Fingal County Council, staff in the Housing Department will take note of the termination date.
- The Council may refer the notice to Threshold, a service funded by the DRHE to provide a Tenancy Protection Service for private renters in the Dublin Region, including Fingal. Threshold can also be contacted directly on Freephone 1800 454 454 or via their website www.threshold.ie which contains more information and advice on the validity of your notice.
- The Council’s first response will be to try to prevent homelessness. This includes assessing the person’s position on the social housing list, providing advice on applying for Choice Based Lettings, advising the person on the level of Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) they may be eligible to receive, and, in some cases, assessing if the Council can acquire the dwelling where the tenants reside if it is being offered for sale.
- Placement in emergency accommodation will be a last resort, if no other alternative can be identified. For households in emergency accommodation there will be support to assist them to access more permanent social housing supports in the shortest possible timeframe.
The Council will continue to deal with notice of termination queries and cases as expeditiously as possible and progress tenant in-situ acquisitions while taking account of circulars and guidance issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Fingal County Council will be liaising with other Dublin and neighbouring local authorities to deal with tenancy issues that may require an inter-authority approach. In particular, we are working closely with our colleagues in the other Dublin Local Authorities on the implementation of the Government policy and guidance, with a focus on the needs of tenants.
Whilst the Council will, in the context of current circumstances, adopt flexibility in dealing with potential acquisitions of properties with tenants in-situ, any acquisition is subject to appropriate due diligence and checks before any commitment is made to acquire, including, for example, determining that a valid notice of termination is in place, the tenant has a social housing need, and the condition and valuation of the property.
The Council understands that the Government is examining options to allow tenants who are not eligible for social housing to remain in their homes, including schemes to support the purchase of homes and a cost rental in-situ scheme. On the Cost Rental Tenant-in-Situ scheme, this is available for tenants who are not eligible for social housing and are at risk of homelessness. The DHLGH has advised that local authorities are to be the first point of contact for this scheme but it is managed by the Housing Agency. Under the scheme the Housing Agency can purchase a property and rent it to the tenant. Local authorities will undertake an initial assessment of the tenant’s circumstances and refer details to the Housing Agency for consideration, where the tenant is at risk of homelessness and the Cost Rental Tenant-in-Situ scheme applies.
Where a tenant wishes to purchase their home, local authorities can advise and support on the Local Authority Home Loan scheme. We are aware that the Government is examining implementing a ‘right of first refusal’ for tenants to purchase their homes, as well as expanding the First Home shared equity scheme. The Council will await further details on the proposed schemes from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Work around preventing homelessness, assessing notices of termination and responding to tenant and landlord tenant in-situ queries is being led by the Council’s Homelessness section, taking a tenant-centred approach, supported by staff dedicated to deal with tenant in-situ housing acquisitions. The contact details below, including a dedicated email address [email protected] , should be used by tenants who may have received a notice of termination or a landlord who has issued a notice of termination to their tenants and who may wish to sell their property to the Council.
The key contact details are:
Fingal County Council Housing Department
Monday to Friday, 9am to 4.30pm: Tel. 01 890 5090
Outside of Office Hours: Freephone 1800 707 707