The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD, has confirmed a €373 million capital injection for the 2026 Second-Hand Social Housing Acquisitions Programme.

This allocation represents a substantial increase of more than €80 million over the €290 million utilised by local authorities in 2025.

The 2026 programme includes specific ring-fenced funds to address critical needs: €150 million is dedicated to helping households exit long-term homeless accommodation, while €50 million is allocated to Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for the provision of housing for care leavers, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.

Minister Browne noted that while the government's primary focus remains the construction of new social homes, the acquisitions programme serves as a vital safety net for those in precarious housing situations.

"Today we are making significant funding available to Local Authorities for housing acquisitions – at €373 million, this is an increase of €80m compared to what they drew down in 2025 under the programme," Minister Browne stated.

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"The acquisitions programme is, rightly, targeted at pressing need and largely operates as a last resort for our councils to utilise in order to ensure that households in the most precarious of housing situations can be protected. The first response to housing need should always be to build more social housing and, thankfully, we are seeing many of our local authorities begin to gain the much-needed momentum in that regard, but I am driving on with the policies at Government level that means that the path is clearer for that delivery.

"As we build more social homes, the need for housing acquisitions should drop away as the overall pool of social housing increases."

A further €157 million will be accessible for local authorities to use at their discretion, supporting initiatives such as tenant-in-situ acquisitions and tenancy sustainment. Additionally, a contingency fund of nearly €16 million has been established to support authorities that reach their full allocation and demonstrate the capacity for further progress.

The 2026 programme maintains a multi-annual approach, allowing local authorities to commit up to 30% of their base allocation for acquisitions that may not be finalised until 2027. This provides the sector with the long-term certainty required for complex property transitions.

Eligibility criteria established in 2025 for tenant-in-situ acquisitions will remain in place. However, a new condition has been introduced: acquisitions will not be permitted for households that have rejected a reasonable offer of social housing from a local authority or AHB following a valid Notice of Termination (NoT).