Joan Collins
Question:75. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the steps he will take to assist families who need three-bedroom homes at an affordable cost (details supplied). [3315/22]
View answerTuesday, 25 January 2022
Questions (75)
Written answers
This Government is committed to the provision of more affordable housing, both for purchase and rent, and under Housing for All we have allocated €4 billion in funding to building affordable homes. This will support the delivery of approximately 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 Cost Rental homes to 2030.
I set out the legislative framework for Cost Rental in the Affordable Housing Act last year. It is a long-term rental model, in which tenants only pay the cost of providing, managing and maintaining their homes. We are committed to growing this sector, and in 2022 over 700 Cost Rental homes will be completed and tenanted via Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) funded by my Department. Together with homes that will delivered by the LDA under Project Tosaigh, this will see approximately 1,500 Cost Rental homes provided for this year.
In the applications that AHBs have received for the homes made available under Cost Rental so far, they have noted a strong demand for one and two-bed homes. However, there is a willingness to facilitate demand for a range of unit sizes in order to meet this affordability crisis. In fact, three and four-bedroom Cost Rental homes have made up approximately 24% of the 821 homes approved under CREL to date.
My Department are also supporting the delivery of affordable purchase and Cost Rental homes through Local Authorities via the Affordable Housing Fund. Of the homes approved in principle to date, 38% are either three or four-bedroom homes, which further demonstrates our commitment to a broad range of unit types to meet the needs of different households across the country.