Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 June 2021
244. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will review the number of applicants on local authority housing waiting lists who may now be in rental accommodation paying excessively high rents with view to waiving a mortgage and housing loan deposit given that they are already paying the equivalent of a mortgage or loan in rent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34188/21]
View answerThe Strategy for the Rental Sector identifies high and rapidly rising rents as the key driver of accommodation insecurity for tenants and a factor in the termination of tenancies. To address this situation, a Rent Predictability Measure was introduced to moderate rent increases in those parts of the country where the imbalance between demand and supply of rental accommodation was driving rent levels upwards most acutely.
The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 gave effect to, and provided for the immediate implementation of, the Rent Predictability Measure. Areas of the country where rents are high and rising have been designated as Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) and rent increases in those areas are capped at 4% per annum. The total number of RPZ’s designated is 55 since Rent Predictability Measures were introduced in 2016, and encompasses over 74.04% of all registered tenancies.
The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2019 changed the expiry date of all RPZs to 31 December 2021.
In relation to affordable measures, the Affordable Housing Bill, currently before the Oireachtas, includes provisions to underpin three schemes delivering on the Government’s commitment to prioritise the increased supply of affordable homes through (1) affordable homes for purchase delivered by local authorities, (2) a new affordable purchase shared equity scheme for private homes, and (3) the introduction of a new form of tenure in Cost Rental.
Budget 2021 allocated €75 million for the Affordable Purchase Shared Equity Scheme, one of the aforementioned provisions. It will enable first-time buyers to buy a new home, much sooner than would otherwise be the case, by bridging the gap between what people have and the price of the new home they want, while also building confidence in the construction sector to increase much need housing supply.
Extensive engagement has been undertaken with key stakeholders to ensure the optimum design of the Scheme, and significant feedback has been factored in. Work on the final design of the Scheme is ongoing, in advance of its introduction later this year.
In relation to affordable housing supports more generally, measures such as the Help to Buy Scheme and the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, are available to eligible purchasers nationally to make home ownership more affordable.
An enhanced Help to Buy scheme was announced as part of the €7 billion July stimulus package, which was extended to December 2021 as part of Budget 2021. This allows first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home – or building one themselves – to claim back up to €30,000 paid in income tax and DIRT on bank deposit interest over the last four years.
The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is a Government-backed mortgage which is for first-time-buyers nationwide to purchase a new or second-hand home or to self-build. This scheme offers loans on competitive terms to those who are unable to secure a sufficient commercial bank loan.
As part of Budget 2019, €310 million was made available to service local authority land for the delivery of affordable housing under the Serviced Sites Fund (SSF). The SSF provides for key enabling infrastructure requirements that will help unlock publicly-owned lands specifically for the provision of affordable homes to buy or rent. This fund sub-vents the cost of facilitating infrastructure, with a current maximum SSF funding amount of €50,000 available per affordable home. This sum is comprised of €44,500 (or 89%) Exchequer contribution and a €5,500 (or 11%) local authority contribution. On this basis, at least 6,200 more affordable homes, to buy or rent, can be facilitated by this measure.
To date, funding support of €200 million has been allocated to enable delivery of over 4,200 affordable homes for purchase or rent. €50 million has been allocated to the SSF in 2021.
