Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
601. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on an average of 2,000 new cost rental homes every year with rents targeted at least 25% below market level under Housing for All. [43313/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraOver the period to 2030, the Government's Housing for All strategy commits to delivering a total of 18,000 Cost Rental homes. Delivery will increase incrementally, to an average of 2,000 Cost Rental homes per year. 10,000 Cost Rental homes will be delivered from 2021 to 2026 by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), Local Authorities and the Land Development Agency (LDA). AHBs will be supported by Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) funding and Local Authorities will be able to avail of funding for Cost Rental delivery through the Affordable Housing Fund. The LDA will also deliver Cost Rental on its own portfolio of sites or through acquisitions under Project Tosaigh.
The first 65 CREL-funded Cost Rental homes were tenanted by the Clúid AHB in 2021, with 25 at Taylor Hill in Balbriggan and a further 40 at Barnhall Meadows in Leixlip. Both developments delivered cost-covering rents at least 40% below comparable open-market prices.
The first quarter of 2022 saw tenants being allocated homes in a further 50 Cost Rental dwellings at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside. These homes were delivered by the Tuath and Respond AHBs, in a collaboration with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and with €4.5 million of funding provided through the Serviced Sites Fund, the precursor to the Affordable Housing Fund, from my Department. The cost-covering rent for these two-bedroom apartments is €1,200 per month, which represents a very significant discount on market prices in the area (c. €2,000).
Quarter 2 of 2022 saw a further 119 Cost Rental homes tenanted at Barnhall in Leixlip (16), Parklands in Citywest (20), The Paddocks in Newbridge (46) and Kilcarbery Grange in Clondalkin (37). These developments delivered cost-covering rents averaging 33% below comparable open market prices.
59 Cost Rental units were recently tenanted at the Kilcarbery Grange (remaining 37 units) and Parklands (further 22 units) developments, bringing the total number of Cost Rental homes in Ireland to 293 since the passing of the Affordable Housing Act last year.
To date, approval in principle has been confirmed so far for approximately 900 Cost Rental homes to be delivered by AHBs under the CREL scheme in the period to 2023. The necessary financial and commercial arrangements in relation to a number of these projects are being completed by the AHBs concerned. Full details of the projects, including specific locations, housing typologies and cost-covering rents cannot be made public until these arrangements are concluded.
In addition to homes funded through the CREL, additional Cost Rental properties are in development by Local Authorities through the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) and by the Land Development Agency.
The central Exchequer funding through the AHF will help to facilitate a Local Authority-led financing structure for Cost Rental. Dublin City Council has submitted an application for funding under the AHF scheme, for their site at Emmet Road, which is an important project for the development of the Cost Rental sector in Ireland. Current projections will see 582 homes delivered on this city centre site, 376 of which will be Cost Rental homes. It is anticipated that a Part 10 planning application will be lodged with An Bord Pleanála in the 3rd quarter of 2022.
In respect of the LDA, it is committed to delivering a large proportion of the homes it will be developing through the Cost Rental model. It is pursuing a twin-track approach of accelerating near term construction of affordable homes on both State and private land, while also working over the longer term to assemble large State-owned land banks capable of delivering thousands of new homes.
For example, the LDA is collaborating with Dún-Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to deliver over 300 Cost Rental homes on a site at Shanganagh, Shankill. Furthermore, it is working on the former HSE Site at St Kevin’s Hospital in Cork City. The LDA has secured planning permission for 265 social and affordable homes for this development and this includes over 100 Cost Rental units. The first homes are expected at the end of 2023/Q1 2024.
The LDA is actively developing 12 sites, capable of delivering about 6,000 homes and has recently submitted planning applications for 2,358 social and affordable homes. Under Housing for All, 20 further sites (additional to the initial tranche of State lands identified) were designated for transfer to the LDA. The establishment of the LDA allows proactive management of the State’s extensive land bank. A State Lands and Property Group monitors progress on the transfer of State lands to the LDA and considers further potential State sites suitable to support housing delivery by the LDA and Local Authorities. All relevant land-owning Departments and Agencies have been requested to engage fully with the LDA.
In the longer term, the LDA will assemble strategic land banks from a mix of public and private lands, making these available for housing in a controlled manner, helping to provide essential long-term stability to the Irish housing market.
Details of the work that the LDA is progressing on public lands that will deliver affordable purchase and cost rental can be found here:
lda.ie/projects-schemes/
In addition to the public lands that the LDA is working on, Project Tosaigh is a market engagement initiative to unlock land with full planning permission that is not being developed by private sector owners due to financing and other constraints, and use it to accelerate the supply of affordable housing. The target under Project Tosaigh is the delivery of 5,000 new homes by 2026 for Cost Rental or sale to eligible households under affordable purchase arrangements. The first strand of Project Tosaigh involved an expressions of interest (EOI) process, launched in November 2021, to engage builders and landowners in forward purchase agreements, with the intention of securing stock in certain developments in the shorter term. Details of all homes that will be made available under Project Tosaigh will be confirmed when commercial agreements are finalised. Full details of the initiative can be found here:
lda.ie/home-building-partnership/
