Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 June 2022
216. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has examined the impact of the housing crisis on single persons who are automatically at a serious disadvantage in relying on one salary in order to rent or buy given the now-exorbitant costs of both; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33299/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Housing for All strategy delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to step up housing supply and put affordability at the heart of the housing system, with an ambitious target of 300,000 homes over the next decade for social, affordable and cost rental, private rental and private ownership housing. It will see 54,000 affordable home interventions which includes 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 cost rental homes to be delivered between now and 2030 by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and through ‘First Home’ a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.
Under pathway 1 of this strategy, “Pathways to Home Ownership and Increasing Affordability”, two new Affordable Purchase schemes are being established (the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme and the First Home shared equity scheme), as well as a new Cost Rental tenancy and an improved Local Authority Home Loan scheme. All of these affordable schemes are available to single applicants.
The Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme assists first-time purchasing Local Authority-delivered new homes by bridging the gap between the market value of the home and the combined value of the buyer's mortgage and deposit.
I recently signed the Affordable Housing Regulations 2022 and the Affordable Housing (No. 2) Regulations 2022, which set out a number of matters, including eligibility criteria and sale prices, for the Local Authority Affordable Purchase scheme.
Under the Regulations and section 11 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021, scope has been provided to allow a Local Authority implement a Scheme of Priority in respect of 30% of dwellings which would, for example, give priority for one-bedroom homes to single persons. This is at the initiative of the Local Authority concerned, though under the legislation the draft Schemes must be submitted to the Minister for consideration.
For households and individuals more suited to renting a home, the Housing for All strategy also includes measures to improve security and affordability in the rental market, including the introduction of Cost Rental tenancies. The rent levels of Cost Rental tenancies are based on the cost of the provision of homes, rather than being subject to the pressures of the open market.
My Department has directed Cost Rental landlords to seek the efficient use of resources by allocating appropriately sized homes according to household needs. This direction is to ensure that landlords place tenants into homes of an appropriate size, in order to maximise the efficient use of the limited number of properties that have been available during the initial rollout of Cost Rental. Over the period of the Housing for All plan from 2021 to 2030, it is intended that 18,000 Cost Rental homes will be delivered in our urban centres by Local Authorities, AHBs and the LDA. These Cost Rental homes will accommodate a range of different household types and sizes, including individuals living alone or in smaller households, as further developments are completed.
To date, approval in principle has been confirmed so far for 911 Cost Rental homes to be delivered by AHBs under the CREL scheme in the period to 2023. These will range in sizes from those suitable to smaller households to larger family homes and will include 110 one-bedroom residences. Up to 234 Cost Rental homes are expected to have been completed across the country by the end of this month, and within 12 months of the passing of the Affordable Housing Act to regulate this entirely new sector last July.
In addition to the schemes already mentioned, Part 4 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 provides for the establishment of the ‘First Home’ affordable purchase shared equity scheme to support purchases of new homes in the private market. The Scheme aims to support c. 8,000 households in the private market in the years out to 2026.
First Home will help applicants to afford new homes in the private market through the use of an equity share model, similar to that employed in the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme. The Scheme will primarily support households including single first-time buyers in the purchase of new homes within designated regional price ceilings, set with reference to the median prices for new homes purchased by first-time buyers in the area.
Subject to the necessary final approvals process of all founders to the scheme, which will see the State operate the scheme in a strategic partnership with participating mortgage lenders, it is anticipated that First Home will become operational in the coming weeks. Full information, including full eligibility criteria and regional price ceilings for homes, will be available on the First Home website upon the Scheme’s launch.
Other measures, such as the Help to Buy Scheme and the Local Authority Home Loan, are also available to eligible purchasers nationally to make home ownership more affordable.
Housing for All introduced the Local Authority Home Loan scheme as a successor to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan. The new Local Authority Home Loan commenced on 4 January 2022 and is available for families and single people on modest or low incomes who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. The loan can be used by first-time buyers and Fresh Start applicants for both for new and second-hand properties, or for self-builds.
Under the Local Authority Home Loan scheme the income ceiling for a single applicant has been increased from €50,000 to €65,000 in counties where the scheme's house price limit is €320,000 (Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow). In the rest of the country, where the scheme’s house price limit is €250,000, the income ceiling for a single applicant is €50,000.
More details on the Local Authority Home Loan scheme are available on the following link:
localauthorityhomeloan.ie/.
The Help-to-Buy incentive supports First-time Buyers in meeting the deposit requirements for newly-built houses or apartments, as well as self-build homes. Subject to the level of income tax and DIRT paid over the previous 4 years, the Help-to-Buy scheme provides a maximum benefit to First-Time Buyers of €30,000 or 10% of the cost of the newly constructed home.
