The tenant-in-situ scheme in 2026

The tenant-in-situ scheme lets a local authority buy the home you rent when the landlord serves a notice of termination because they intend to sell. You stay in the home, the council becomes your landlord, and you pay a differential rent worked out from your income. It is for households that would otherwise be at risk of homelessness and that qualify for social housing support, which in practice means most HAP and RAS tenants.

In 2026 the scheme runs within a national ceiling of about €157 million, shared out between the councils by the Department of Housing. The searches for "paused" and "funding cut" have one honest answer. The scheme is open, the money is capped, and a council that has committed its share may stop taking new cases until the next allocation. It is a ceiling, not a closure.

This guide covers who qualifies, the reasonable-offer rule, how to apply, and what to do with the notice while the council decides. Run the notice itself through the notice checker first, because the scheme does not pause the notice.

When a council can buy

Three things have to line up. There must be a notice of termination on the sale ground, served in the form section 62 requires with a statutory declaration. The household must be at risk of homelessness and qualify for social housing support, under the council's income limits and the other conditions. The landlord must be willing to sell to the council at a price the council can justify.

A council may also buy where the tenant is not on HAP but would qualify for social housing support. Ask, even if you have never applied: the application for social housing support can run alongside the tenant-in-situ request. Social housing support and the HAP rule explains the income limits.

A separate strand, the cost rental tenant-in-situ scheme run by the Housing Agency, covers households whose income is above the social housing limits but who are still at risk of homelessness after a sale notice. The Housing Agency buys the home and you become a cost-rental tenant, paying a rent set to cover cost. Cost rental: what it is and how to apply explains that tenure.

The 2026 ceiling

Each year the Department of Housing sets a national sum for tenant-in-situ purchases and divides it among the councils. For 2026 the sum is about €157 million. Within it, a council decides which cases to take, and it weighs the price, the condition of the home, the household's need and the alternatives.

Because the money is finite, timing matters. Councils that received many requests in earlier years used their allocation early in the year and then held new cases until a further allocation. Apply as soon as the notice is served, not when the termination date is near. Ask the council in writing for its current position, and ask for a written answer.

The county pages carry the housing contacts for each council, and the Dublin councils, where most purchases happen, publish their own notes on the scheme.

The reasonable-offer rule

The council pays a price supported by an independent valuation, and it does not pay above market. The landlord receives an offer, and may accept it, negotiate, or refuse and sell on the open market. The Department's guidance to councils asks them to make a reasonable offer promptly, and it asks landlords to consider one; neither side is compelled.

For you, the rule means two things. The council cannot promise a purchase, and a landlord who wants a higher price can walk away. If the landlord sells to someone else with you in place, the buyer takes over the tenancy and the notice on the sale ground falls away, because the sale has completed without vacant possession. Landlord selling: your rights as the tenant covers that outcome.

How to apply

There is no national form. Contact the housing department of the local authority for the area where the home is, say that you have received a notice of termination on the sale ground, and ask for the tenant-in-situ process. Give them a copy of the notice and the statutory declaration, your HAP or RAS reference if you have one, and proof of income for the household.

Ask the landlord in writing whether they are willing to sell to the council. Many are, because a sale with the tenant in place avoids a gap in rent and the cost of vacant possession. The council will contact the landlord or the agent directly once you have made the request, and will arrange a valuation and an inspection of the home.

Write down the date of every call and keep every letter in your tenancy file. If the council says it is not taking cases, ask for that in writing and ask when the position will change. Ask what else it can offer: a HAP discretion review, a place on the Homeless HAP scheme in Dublin, or a referral to an approved housing body.

The notice does not stop

The scheme runs beside the notice of termination, not instead of it. The notice period keeps running, and so does the 90-day window to refer the notice to the RTB. A purchase can take months, and a council decision can come after the termination date. Keep paying the rent throughout, and keep to the access rule for viewings that a sale within nine months brings with it.

If the notice is defective, you lose nothing by saying so. A notice that fails section 62 may be invalid, and an invalid notice does not end the tenancy whether or not the council buys. Refer any doubtful notice to the RTB inside the window, and tell the council you have done so; the two processes do not conflict.

Ring Threshold on 1800 454 454, Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, with the notice in front of you. Threshold's advisers work with the councils on these cases every week and know which councils are taking them.

Where this leaves you

The council can buy the home you rent when a sale notice is served, the landlord is willing to sell at a reasonable price, and your household qualifies for social housing support. In 2026 that happens within a ceiling of about €157 million nationally, so apply the week the notice arrives and ask the council for its position in writing. The notice keeps running while the council decides, so check it, keep paying the rent, and refer it to the RTB inside the 90 days if anything is wrong. Threshold is the free first call, and the landlord-selling journey takes the steps in order.