Eoin Ó Broin
Ceist:471. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage the average unit cost for social homes delivered through the acquisitions programme in the past 12 months. [28973/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 14 June 2022
Ceisteanna (471)
Freagraí scríofa
My Department supports local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to acquire social housing homes through a number of funding programmes. The Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) and Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) allow local authorities and AHBs to recoup 100% of acquisition costs. The Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) funding is capital support provided to AHBs by local authorities to facilitate the funding of construction, acquisition or refurbishment of new social housing units. This loan facility can support up to 30% of the eligible capital cost of the housing project, with the housing units provided to local authorities for social housing use under long-term lease arrangements known as Payment and Availability Agreements.
The €70 million revolving Housing Agency Acquisitions Fund (HAA Fund) was established with effect from the 1 January 2017 with the objective of acquiring vacant property portfolios from banks and financial institutions that could then be used for social housing. The fund is replenished by the Housing Agency through the sale of units, primarily to AHBs, and used for future acquisitions. AHBs can utilise the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) and the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) to part fund these purchases. The cost to the Department varies depending on the funding mechanisms chosen by the AHB. The table below sets out the average acquisition cost of social housing properties under the SHIP, CAS, HAA Fund and CALF programmes in 2021.
|
SHIP Acquisition Average Cost |
€211,000 |
|
CAS Acquisition Average Cost 2021 |
€170,278 |
|
CALF Acquisition Average Cost 2021 |
€268,388 |
|
Housing Agency Acquisition Average Cost 2021 |
€243,854 |
Note: The information above is calculated using the financial information available to the Department. Due to the nature of the acquisition programmes, acquisition of housing does not always arise in the same year as expenditure and programmes may cross a number of payment periods. Cost information provided may be subject to change.