Council urged to acquire four-bed family homes in North Leitrim

Leitrim County Council says it has not acquired any second-hand four-bedroom homes in the Manorhamilton Municipal District under its 2026 acquisitions programme, citing strict Government funding criteria that limit purchases to specific categories of housing need.

The issue was raised by Cllr Pádraig Fallon at a meeting of Manorhamilton Municipal District, where he asked if the Council could advise whether any effort had been made to acquire four-bedroom family homes in the MD.

In its response, the Council explained that second-hand homes can be acquired under the 2026 Second Hand Acquisitions Programme, which operates strictly in accordance with national funding criteria and approved procedures set by the Department of Housing.

The programme is not intended to purchase homes for the general social housing waiting list. Instead, it is limited to certain categories of need, including households exiting homelessness, people with disabilities, older people, care leavers requiring urgent housing responses, and tenant-in-situ cases.

“The properties acquired under the acquisition programme must identify individuals who meet the strict eligibility criteria under these three primary categories of need,” the response stated.

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“Unfortunately, this programme does not permit Leitrim County Council to operate an application-based process or to seek or consider expressions of interest from members of the public for the acquisition of private properties or acquire general properties for use as social housing stock,” the response continued.

The Council added that, to date, no four-bedroom property in the Manorhamilton MD has met the eligibility criteria under the category of need required to support a second-hand acquisition.

Cllr Fallon described the response as “disappointing”, saying there are a “number of larger families who are in three-bed accommodation that is nowhere meeting their needs.”

He explained that some families have been refused three-bedroom properties through the choice-based letting scheme because they do not meet their assessed housing need, arguing that this demonstrates the need for the Council to make greater efforts to source four-bedroom family homes.

“I have forwarded numerous four-beds that have come up in the MD and have asked if the local authority would look at the possibility of purchasing. I do know there’s a very strict criteria and issues with displacement and competing with first time buyers,” said Cllr Fallon.

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“I’m appealing to the local authority to look at this and keep their eye on the ball with regard to the need for four-beds within the municipal,” he added.

His motion was seconded by Cllr Felim Gurn and Cllr Eddie Mitchell, with Cllr Gurn saying, “There’s definitely a need to identify four-bedroom houses in the Manorhamilton area.”