Making a difference by providing quality homes for people in housing need
Yes. Circle VHA was established in 2003. It has approved housing body status from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. It has charitable status fromRevenue and is affiliated to The Irish Council for Social Housing. It is a legally incorporated company limited by guarantee. It has certified status from the Housing Finance Agency.
Circle VHA provides housing for both families and single persons who are approved housing applicants of the local authority where they reside.
To apply for a Circle VHA house, you must already be on your local authority housing list. As a vacancy arises, Circle VHA will contact the local authority in the area where a void or new property is located. The local authority then provides nominations to Circle VHA, they determine who is eligible for housing. The applicant is then interviewed by Circle VHA after completing our housing application form. Circle VHA and the local authority then decide on whether to offer the applicant the unit of accommodation.
All applicants for a Circle VHA home must be over 18 years of age.
Firstly, contact Threshold at 01-6786096. The landlord must provide in writing the reasons for seeking repossession of the property. The duration of your lease or tenancy agreement will determine the notice period that you are entitled to.
Under recent legislation, rents are to be fixed for a two year period. If your rent was increased in 2015, your landlord is not entitled to increase it again until 2017. The landlord must also give, in writing, 90 days’ notice of the proposed rent increase. Again, seek advice from Threshold at 01-6786096.
Separately, if you are under threat of becoming homeless, contact the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive on the Free Phone Number 1800-454-454. This phoneline is staffed Monday to Friday from 9am to 9pm. The DRHE will advise you and may be able to assist you with an increase in your rent allowance, which may prevent you becoming homeless.
It is essential that you contact the local authority in the area in which you are living and register with them to become an approved housing applicant. Once registered, your situation will be assessed by the local authority. If you are already registered with a local authority and are an approved housing applicant you need to inform them of your change of circumstances as to where you are now living.
The type of Circle VHA home you are awarded depends on your circumstances, family size, mobility etc. Each case is assessed on an individual basis by Circle VHA personnel, in consultation with the housing officer of the local authority in question. It will also depend on the type of property available in the area in which you wish to live.
Where there is a joint tenancy, and one tenant dies, the tenancy automatically remains with the surviving tenant. Where a sole tenant dies, Circle VHA has the right to take back the property. Circle VHA will consider granting a new tenancy to a member of his / her immediate family where the family member used the dwelling as their normal place of residence for a minimum period of the preceding six months. However, succession is not an automatic right. Each case is considered in terms of the current housing need of the applicant and the size of the existing unit of accommodation.
No. The current Government policy is that all approved housing association tenants cannot buy their property; the dwelling is for rental only.
Yes. The existing tenant will need to source another tenant who may wish to transfer to their home. The local authority will then need to be notified. It is a requirement that neither the local authority nor the Circle VHA tenants have existing rent arrears. The potential transfer applicant is then interviewed by Circle VHA. A Garda check in undertaken by the local authority. The transfer has to be mutually agreed between both Circle VHA and the local authority before the transfer can take place.
Yes, but a valid reason for wanting to move needs to be supplied. Contact your local housing officer to discuss the matter further. A transfer request must also be made in writing. The tenant will be placed on the transfer list if their appeal is accepted. The feasibility of the transfer will depend upon units of accommodation being available. The tenant will also need to have no rent arrears. It is more difficult to transfer from a Circle VHA unit in one local authority area to a Circle VHA unit in another local authority area. The local authority in the area you wish to transfer to also has to approve such a request.
Firstly, contact the designated housing officer for your area and explain to them the reasons for your dissatisfaction. Clarify with them what your problem or concern is and the responsibility of Circle VHA as your landlord for the issue of concern. In most cases we will aim to resolve your cause of concern. If you are still unhappy with our service response then make a formal complaint by filling out our Complaint Form. Your complaint will then be investigated and responded to in writing. Further to that, if you are still not satisfied you can make a complaint to the Residential Tenancies Board, which will investigate the matter.
Rent is assessed and paid weekly. If you are unsure about the status of your rent payments, please contact your housing officer or Circle VHA’s office so that you can be updated on the current status of the rent account. Circle VHA is legally obliged to send out a quarterly rent payments report and an annual rent payment report.
Your rent will change if your income changes. You are legally obliged as per the conditions of your tenancy agreement to inform us of any change in your income. Any time there is a change in your income, your rent will be reassessed.
Under the tenancy agreement, Circle VHA tenants are required to pay their rent on time. If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please contact your housing officer, who will advise you of your options.
