Kerry County Council has developed this Allocations Scheme in accordance   with Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009 and the Social Housing Allocation Regulations 2011
Its purpose is to set out the basis for prioritizing
(a) the allocation of all Social Housing dwellings to persons whose need for accommodation has been established and
(b) and the basis for prioritising transfer applications from existing Council tenants.

This Scheme applies to dwellings that:
(i) The Council owns,
(ii) Are leased, rented or contracted to The Council, and
(iii) Are owned and provided by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBS).

HOW APPLICATIONS ARE PRIORITIZED (when deciding on the allocation of social housing)

The Order of Priority to apply is as follows
a) Applicants living in dwellings deemed to be dangerous or who are being displaced by  the Local Authority.
b)  Applicants living in overcrowded conditions.
c) Applicants living in unfit conditions.
d) Applicants in need of housing because of disability or exceptional medical or compassionate circumstances.
e) Elderly applicants.
f) Members of the Traveler Community.
g) Applicants who have been assessed and approved for Social Housing Support.

Other criteria
(i) Where a number of applicants are in the same category, length of time as a       qualified applicant shall be considered.
(ii) Where exceptional medical grounds are claimed it should be shown that the person’s situation would be improved by social housing support.
(iii)  Consideration will be given to the level of demand from the various categories with particular priority for one person households.
(iv) The Council may disregard applicants’ present accommodation if there is reason to believe that they have occupied unsuitable accommodation to improve their prospects of obtaining a tenancy from the Council.
(v)  All allocations are subject to Section 5.2 and principles of good estate management.
(vi)  All Approved Housing Bodies allocations shall also follow this order of priority.

EXCEPTIONS
The Council may disregard the order of priority in the case of the provision for homeless people or others in need of accommodation in exceptional circumstances such as fire, flood etc. or where the Council is redeveloping an area or where there are exceptional medical or compassionate reasons.
Also in the allocation of RAS accommodation the main criteria will be length of time a household has been in receipt of rent supplement and the length of time it has been approved for social housing support.

GENERAL PROVISIONS
The Council may allocate a proportion of houses for the following:
a)      Older people, people with disabilities etc.
b)      Households transferring from other forms of social housing support (e.g. RAS Units, Voluntary Units)
c)      For particular forms of tenure such as an Incremental Purchase dwelling
d)      Choice Based Lettings (CBL)

Consideration of REFUSALS of Offers
(a)   Where a household refuses 2 reasonable offers by a housing authority in the area over a 12 month period, they will not be considered for allocation of a dwelling for a period of a year from the date of the second refusal.
(b)   An offer is considered reasonable where it meets the accommodation needs of the household in the specified area. Where the Council makes an offer because of specified exceptional circumstances such as fire etc. the offer does not have to be in the area of their choice to be considered reasonable.
(c)    Refusal of offers under RAS and/or Leasing will be treated as a refusal of accommodation.
(d)   Refusals of offers of accommodation to any housing authority  in a specified area of choice will count.

Refusals by the  Council to Allocate
In accordance with the Housing Acts the Council can refuse to allocate where it considers the applicant or a member of the applicant’s household:
1.Has been in engaged in anti-social behaviour.
2 Has been evicted from previous local authority accommodation.
3. Has illegally occupied local authority accommodation.
4. Has vacated a previous local authority dwelling owing rent (consideration may be given to including applicant on the basis of arrears being cleared)
5. Has vacated a previous local authority dwelling having neglected its upkeep.
6. Is squatting or has previously squatted a local authority dwelling.
7. Has made threats or behaved violently towards local authority staff.viii. Has manipulated their housing circumstances in order to achieve a priority to which they would not be entitled.

1. Refuses to disclose information or gives misleading information to the Council on the application form or at interview.
Or
1. Where allocation would be contrary to good estate management.
2. Where an Abandonment Notice has been served on a house occupied by the applicant or a member of the household.
3. Where the allocation would result in overcrowding.

xiii. Any other activities contained in the Kerry Local Authorities Adopted Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy.

TRANSFERS OF TENANTS

Council Tenants (including SHI, RAS or AHB) will only be considered for transfer in the following circumstances:
a)      Overcrowding.
b)      Where elderly or small households wish to move to a smaller dwelling.
c)      Exceptional medical and compassionate reasons.
d)      To facilitate tenant purchase.

Tenants seeking a transfer must also:
a)      Have paid rent in full for past 6 months.
b)      Have paid all other charges.
c)      Have kept their dwelling in a satisfactory condition subject to inspection.
d)      Have complied with all the conditions of the Council’s Letting Agreement.
e)      Have no record of anti-social behaviour.
f)       Have been tenants of the dwelling for at least two years.
g)      Comply with Good Estate Management.

INTER TRANSFERS
Transfers between tenants of the Council and another Local Authority may be permitted where the two authorities mutually agree and  having regard to the same grounds for refusals of offers of accommodation.

FORMER LOCAL AUTHORITY TENANTS
The Council will not approve Housing Applications from former Local Authority or RAS  tenants for a period of a year from the date of surrender and until:
(a) The rent of their previous tenancy is fully paid.
(b) there is no record of anti-social behaviour  for two years before the new application is made.
(c) All costs (security, cleaning etc.) relating to damage done to property by the former tenant are paid in full.

PRE-TENANCY COURSES
All prospective tenants and members of their households over 18 must attend a Pre- Tenancy Course if requested or the offer will be withdrawn.