I propose to take Questions Nos. 741 and 742 together.
As a necessary measure to accelerate the provision of social homes and to alleviate pressure on the wider housing system this year; the Housing Agency in conjunction with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is exploring the introduction of an emergency new targeted leasing initiative.
On July 15th, a without prejudice call for expressions of interest was published on www.etenders.gov.ie, to test the market’s ability to deliver up to an additional 1,000 social homes between 2022 and 2025.
The purpose of this expression of interest is to drive engagement with property providers and approved housing bodies to assess whether 1,000 new social homes can be delivered in the areas of greatest social housing need, given current challenging market conditions.
One of the defined terms of the expression of interest is that proposed properties should not be the subject of a proposal for State funding or already approval funding under any other scheme with a local authority, approved housing body and/or the land development agency. Proposers are asked to complete a declaration to this effect to ensure that existing proposals for other schemes will not be impacted by this initiative.
The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 (as amended) does not apply to lease agreements for the targeted leasing initiative, in the same way that it does not apply to standard long term leasing to a public authority. Long term leasing to a public authority is a specific exclusion of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.
The outputs from the project submissions will enable an accurate cost analysis to be completed to determine the exact funds required to progress this initiative, which will then be assessed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for funding approval.
Housing for All commits to ending long term leasing by 2025 year end. This policy remains unchanged, however leasing continues to be an important mechanism for faster delivery to meet social housing needs as build supply ramps up to meet demand.
