Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
829. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his plans for a centralised platform or website to advertise all the various cost-rental schemes open for applicants nationally; the reason the Government decided that daft.ie was the appropriate platform to advertise cost-rental schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17715/23]
View answerThe Government’s Housing for All plan targets the delivery of 18,000 Cost Rental homes by 2030, primarily through delivery by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), Local Authorities and the Land Development Agency (LDA). Funding has been allocated to AHBs through the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) scheme, and to local authorities through the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF).
The policy intent of developing a Cost Rental sector in Ireland is to support the housing needs of those on moderate incomes for whom high open market rents are unaffordable and who do not qualify for social housing supports.
All Cost Rental providers are legally obliged to make Cost Rental homes available in line with the provisions of Part 3 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021. The process of advertising a tenancy under Cost Rental is set out the Cost Rental Letting and Eligibility Regulations 2021.
Under these regulations, vacancies in all Cost Rental properties must be advertised online for a period of at least 7 days, during which time households can express their interest in leasing the properties in a form designated by the landlord, including through the submission of applications by electronic means. The manner in how these obligations in relation to the advertisement of Cost Rental vacancies are most effectively met is matter for the individual Cost Rental landlords.
The Housing Agency, on behalf of my Department, is managing the delivery of a public facing information website which will provide explanatory information on each of the affordable housing options available and set out in the Affordable Housing Act 2021, including Cost Rental housing. It is anticipated that this will be operational by the end of May 2023.
The Housing Agency, on behalf of my Department, is also managing the delivery of a centralised application web portal for affordable homes. This web portal is intended to cater for applicants for affordable purchase homes and cost rental homes throughout the country and will involve a substantial IT procurement process. A working group consisting of local authorities, the LGMA and my Department with input from the AHB sector has been established to assist in the identification of the requirements for this web platform. It is anticipated that a tender document will be ready to issue in June 2023.
