In terms of the evaluation of housing needs, National Policy Objective 37 of the National Planning Framework (NPF) provides for a Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) to be undertaken in each local authority area. The objective is to ensure long-term strategic housing needs are met. The purpose of the HNDA is to: (1) assist local authorities to develop long-term strategic views of housing need across all tenure, (2) provide a robust evidence base to support decisions about new housing supply, wider investment and housing related services, which inform an overall national housing profile, (3) inform policies about the proportion of social and affordable housing required, and (4) provide evidence to inform policies related to the provision of specialist housing and housing related services. Further information on the HNDA is available online at:
www.gov.ie/en/publication/eaa99-housing-need-and-demand-assessment-hnda/.
The HNDA will inform the provision of housing, including affordable housing, helping to deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to putting affordability at the heart of the housing system, while also recognising that a need for affordable housing exists for people of all ages. Delivery on this commitment is evidenced in the measures contained in the Affordable Housing Bill 2021, currently before the Oireachtas, which provides for three schemes that will increase the supply of affordable homes through (1) affordable homes on local authority lands, (2) the introduction of a new form of tenure in Cost Rental, and (3) a new affordable purchase shared equity scheme.
The delivery of affordable homes on local authority land is supported by the €310 million Serviced Sites Fund (SSF). In making an application for SSF funding, each local authority must demonstrate that an affordability issue exists in the area in question, and that it is viable to deliver homes with a price reduction of at least 10% below open market values, with the reduction remaining as fully-repayable equity charge against the property. The scheme is targeted at first-time buyers, with some limited exceptions as outlined in the Affordable Housing 2021 Bill.
Currently, 40 SSF projects across 14 local authorities have received approval in principle which, cumulatively, will assist in the delivery of just over 4,200 affordable home to buy or rent. My Department continues to actively engage with local authorities to progress both current and potential projects. The first SSF project to deliver affordable homes for purchase will at the Boherboy project in Cork City, and the first SSF project to deliver Cost Rental homes will be at Enniskerry Road in Dún Laoghaire, both of which will see new homes available later this year.
In addition to the affordable homes to be delivered through the SSF, Budget 2021 allocated €75 million for the Affordable Purchase Shared Equity Scheme, which is aimed at first-time buyers buying a new-build home on private land. It will help these first-time buyers secure their own home by bridging the gap, by means of an equity stake, between the mortgage available to them and the price of the home they want. Work on the detailed design of the proposed scheme is ongoing and at an advanced stage.
The Affordable Housing Bill 2021 will also place a new form of tenure in Cost Rental on a statutory basis for the first time. Cost Rental directly links rents to the cost of provision, rather than market dynamics. Three initial Cost Rental projects are already underway at Enniskerry Road in Stepaside, Emmet Road in Inchicore, and Shanganagh in Shankill.
The provision of Cost Rental housing is also being implemented through the new Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) scheme, which was allocated €35m in Budget 2021. I approved in principle the financing this year of 390 new homes across eight sites, located in Dublin, the Greater Dublin Area, and Cork. CREL support and careful cost management has generated initial rents which are at least 25% below comparable open market prices, delivering significantly improved affordability for renters.
In addition to the measures in the Affordable Housing Bill 2021, the Land Development Agency (LDA) is tasked to work with Government Departments, local authorities, state agencies and other stakeholders to assemble strategic sites in urban areas and ensure the sustainable development of social and affordable homes for rent and purchase. On establishment, the LDA had access to an initial tranche of 8 sites that have near term delivery potential for approximately 3,400 new homes. In partnership with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, the LDA has been granted planning permission for the development of 597 homes on a site in Shanganagh, County Dublin. Approximately 34% of the homes will be for social housing, 51% will be cost rental and 15% will be for affordable purchase. Work has commenced on the construction tender process, with construction anticipated to start in the second half of 2021. Information on the work of the LDA is available at: https://lda.ie/.
Another key priority of Government is to increase social housing stock nationally by more than 50,000 units, with a key emphasis on delivering new build homes. This is complemented by our support of local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in working in partnership with developers to deliver new social homes through Turnkeys arrangements, which commonly provides a faster delivery of units
Not only will each of the aforementioned measures increase much needed housing supply, they will also help return confidence, and encourage employment, in the construction sector in general. They also reflect the realisation that we need to increase housing supply, not only from the State, but from the private sector as well.
Finally, I would add that the Government’s upcoming Housing strategy, ‘Housing for All’, will detail an extensive range of measures and ambitious targets to underpin the delivery of social and affordable housing over the coming years.
