Emails Reveal Kildare Council's Back And Forth Before Dropping ‘Tenant In Situ’ Property Purchase

As a result, a local could now be facing homelessness.

A Kildare-based  landlord has expressed frustration over what they describe as an "inefficient" process by Kildare County Council (KCC) regarding the sale of a property under the ‘tenant in situ’ scheme.

The situation has left both the landlord and tenant in a precarious position, as the council has informed them that it does not have the necessary funding to proceed with the purchase.

Email exchanges seen by Kfm shows a constant back and forth between the landlord and the council over a four-month period, with initial contact beginning on September 20th last year.

The property has been rented out for over a decade.

Due to financial difficulties, the landlord made a decision to sell the house, which had been rented to the same tenant for most of that time.

“When we notified our tenant about the sale, we were asked to consider selling to the council,” the landlord said.

“We were initially hesitant, as we thought it would be a lengthy and complex process, especially since we live abroad. However, we wanted to help our tenant and knew that this could provide stability during the housing crisis.”

According to the landlord, discussion with the council began in September 2024, with a clear expectation that the sale would be completed by December.

They said landlords are often portrayed as "greedy", explaining that their monthly mortgage payment is €1200.

They received €600 after tax from HAP, resulting in them supplementing the payments, meaning they could not afford to continue with the arrangement.

However, months of delays followed, with repeated assurances from  the council that the process to buy the property was moving forward.

A timeline of interactions shows continuous follow-ups from the landlord, with various reports and inspections delaying progress at every stage.

The final setback came this week when the council informed the landlord that it did not have the funds to proceed and could not confirm if or when government funding would be available.

“We have been completely blindsided by this,” the landlord said.

They added: "We have no choice but to move forward with selling the property on the open market.”

This means the tenant could now be facing homelessness.

In a statement to kfm, a spokesperson for the council said: "Kildare County Council cannot comment on individual cases however due to the complexities of the acquisition process an indication regarding a completion date would not be given to either landlord or tenant."

They added: "Tenants in receipt of social housing support who are at risk of losing their tenancy are advised to source alternate accommodation. Should they be unsuccessful in this and are in receipt of a valid Notice to Quit from their landlord they can contact the Homeless HAP Placefinder team at 045 980230. Every support will be given to assist in securing private rented accommodation."

Yesterday, €265 million was announced for the tenant in situ scheme but Kildare South Labour TD Mark Wall said we still don't know how much Kildare will get.