Wexford County Council is aware that households in our area may have received a notice of termination from their landlord and may be unsure about what to do.
Households who are in receipt of a Notice of Termination and are unsure as to their rights, should contact the Residential Tenancies Board, Threshold or other tenant support services for support and advice in the first instance.
Any household who has received a valid notice of termination and who has no alternative accommodation can contact the local authority at customerservice@wexfordcoco.ie.
Wexford County Council’s first response will be to support households to try to prevent homelessness.
- Where a person or household is eligible for social housing:
Where the household is not an approved social housing applicant, Wexford County Council will provide advice on applying for Social Housing Supports including advice on the level of Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) they may be eligible to receive.
Where a household is an approved social housing applicant, Wexford County Council will assess if the property in which the tenant currently resides is suitable for acquisition. In prioritising properties for acquisition, consideration will be given to aspects such as cost and value and the condition of the property as well as the risk of homelessness of the household. If there are social housing units available via the local authority or an Approved Housing Body, allocation to these may also be considered. All queries on tenant in situ scheme should be sent to housing.acquisitions@wexfordcoco.ie. - Where a person or household is not eligible for social housing:
Where a person or household is not eligible for Social Housing Supports and is at risk of homelessness, they should contact customerservice@wexfordcoco.ie to arrange a homeless assessment. Following this, Wexford County Council will refer the relevant household to the appropriate services, which includes the following:- The Cost Rental Tenant-in-Situ scheme is available for tenants who are not eligible for social housing and are at risk of homelessness. Local authorities are a 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 where the net household income does not exceed €59k.
- Where a tenant wishes to purchase their home, local authorities can advise on the Local Authority Home Loan scheme. The Council is aware that the Government is examining implementing a ‘right of first refusal’ for tenants to purchase their home, as well as expanding the First Home shared equity scheme. Wexford County Council will provide more information on these as it becomes available.
Wexford County Council would like to assure households that emergency accommodation will be utilised as last resort only, where no other appropriate alternative accommodation can be identified. Households in emergency accommodation will be supported to access more permanent accommodation as quickly as possible.
Wexford County Council will continue to deal with notice of termination queries and cases as they are notified to us. The Councils housing team is operating as quickly as possible to respond to queries, while taking account of circulars issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Tenants are advised to ensure they are fully informed of their rights by contacting the Residential Tenancies Board, Threshold or other tenant support services for support and advice.
All notices of termination should be sent as soon as received and confirmed as valid to customerservice@wexfordcoco.ie.