In recent years, the main source of funding to Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for social housing delivery, is through borrowings and support from local authorities through the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) and Payment and Availability (P&A) programme. The P&A-CALF model has shown itself to be an integral part of social housing delivery and has contributed significantly to social housing development since its introduction. The loan (capital advance) is available up to a maximum of 30% of the value of the acquisition or construction of the dwellings and it is repayable at the end of the term which can be up to 30 years. The balance of the investment required is borrowed separately by the AHB, and in the main, from the Housing Finance Agency (HFA). AHBs can only avail of this funding if they enter into a P&A agreement with the local authority for the same period, making the relevant properties available for social housing - providing accommodation for people on the relevant local authority’s waiting list, for the same period of time.
As with all exchequer-supported projects, my Department as sanctioning authority, assesses each project proposal for suitability as determined by the local authority, value for money and compliance with the various requirements of the funding programme.
The current turnaround time for CALF applications is approximately 6 weeks, from receipt of application by the Local Authority to decision reached by my Department.
As of May 2023 the Department has been made aware of a small number of projects which are on hold. A project submitted for CALF funding can be placed on hold for a myriad of reasons, it should be noted that none of these projects are on hold as a result of applications not being processed by the CALF team in my Department:
|
Local Authority Area
|
Number of Projects
|
Number of homes
|
|
Carlow
|
1
|
37
|
|
Cork City
|
1
|
21
|
|
Dublin City
|
2
|
134
|
|
Galway County
|
2
|
30
|
|
Laois
|
1
|
39
|
|
Louth
|
2
|
66
|
|
Mayo
|
2
|
50
|
|
Tipperary
|
2
|
92
|
|
Westmeath
|
1
|
130
|
|
Wicklow
|
1
|
58
|
