Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 December 2021
333. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of cost rental units he has signed off; when these will be tenanted; the locations they will be delivered in; the size of the units; the number of bedrooms and type that will be delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62636/21]
View answerHousing for All commits to the provision of 18,000 Cost Rental homes to 2030, an average of 2,000 per year. These will be delivered in our urban centres where affordability issues arise. They will be provided by Affordable Housing Bodies (AHBs) through Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) funding, by Local Authorities through the Affordable Housing Fund and by the Land Development Agency (LDA) on their portfolio of sites.
A total of 390 Cost Rental homes were approved under the first tranche of CREL funding in early 2021. These new homes are located in Dublin, the Greater Dublin Area and Cork, with cost-covering rents projected at a minimum of 25% less than comparable open market prices.
The first 25 of Cost Rental homes to be designated in Ireland were completed by the Clúid AHB at Taylor Hill, Balbriggan and the first tenants moved into their new homes at Taylor Hill from 28 August 2021. The cost-covering rents for these homes are approximately 40% below comparable open-market prices in the area, ranging from €935 per month for a two-bed terraced house to €1,150 for a four-bed detached house. Another 40 Cost Rental homes have recently been completed at Barnhall Meadows in Leixlip, County Kildare, where all tenants have recently moved into their new homes. The cost-covering rents for these CREL-funded homes range from €900 per month for the two-bed homes to €1,250 per month for the three-bed homes, which are approximately 42% below market rent. (See tables below for details of both developments).
|
Taylor Hill Homes |
Average Comparable Market Rent |
Cost-covering Rent |
% Discount from Market Rent |
|
Taylor Hill Homes |
Average Comparable Market Rent |
Cost-covering Rent |
% Discount from Market Rent |
|
2-bed terraces (x7) (77.8- 88.6m2) |
€1,467 |
€935 |
36.26% |
|
3-bed terraces, semi-detached and detached (x17) (102-120m2) |
€1,729 |
€1,100 |
36.38% |
|
4-bed detached (x1) (149.4m2) |
€2,050 |
€1,150 |
43.9% |
|
Barnhall Meadows |
Average Comparable Market Rent |
Cost-covering Rent |
% Discount from Market Rent |
|
Barnhall Meadows |
Average Comparable Market Rent |
Cost-covering Rent |
% Discount from Market Rent |
|
2-bed house (x6) (86m2) |
€1,600 |
€900 |
43.75% |
|
3-bed house (x34)(109-121m2) |
€2,150 |
€1,250 |
41.86% |
The necessary financial and commercial arrangements in relation to the other projects approved under the first call for proposals under CREL are being completed by the AHBs concerned. When these arrangements are concluded, details of the other projects, including specific locations, housing typologies and cost-covering rents, will be made public.
In addition to these 390 homes, another 50 two bed Cost Rental apartments are currently being constructed at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, by the Respond and Tuath AHBs, alongside 105 social housing units. Construction of these purpose-built Cost Rental homes is due to be completed before the end of the year. The tenant selection process is underway and the new tenants will move into their new homes early in the new year. Proposed rents for these Cost Rental units are show in the table below.
|
Unit Type |
Average Comparable Market Rent |
Cost-covering Rent |
% Discount from Market Rent |
|
2-bed apartments (x 50) |
€2,000 per month |
€1,200 per month |
40% |
Delivery of CREL homes is subject to construction schedules, which, together with housing projects more generally, were impacted by COVID delays at the beginning of this year. The initial timeframes submitted by AHBs were based on all efforts being made to deliver the homes as soon as possible. As AHBs sought to use CREL funding to allow developers to construct homes that may otherwise not have been delivered, the commencement of construction on these specific units was, in most instances, not possible until the lifting of relevant COVID restrictions.
A further €75 million in Exchequer funding has been allocated for 2022. Combined with funds made available by the Housing Finance Agency, this will help to meet the Housing for All target of a further 750 Cost Rental homes. A second Call for Proposals was opened to AHBs under the CREL scheme on Friday 22 October 2021, seeking applications for properties prioritised for delivery in 2022. The closing date for this call expired on Tuesday 30 November. The process to assess these applications is currently ongoing.
Furthermore, it is my intention to issue an Open, Rolling Call under CREL from early 2022. This will facilitate ongoing applications from AHBs as projects present themselves, assist with applications for Cost Rental and social housing (through Capital Advance Leasing Facility CALF) on the same sites and will facilitate longer-term developments where AHBs can purchase land and undertake design and build contracts directly.
