Written answers

Thursday, 10 December 2020

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Rental Sector

Photo of Aodhán Ó RíordáinAodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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259. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the terms of reference will be provided for the cross-departmental working group on cost rental; the membership of the group; and the expected date for delivery of its findings. [42675/20]

Photo of Aodhán Ó RíordáinAodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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260. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the affordable cost rental programme; the developments that are currently planned; the status of each; the projected cost; the number of units; the likely monthly cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42676/20]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 259 and 260 together.

The Programme for Government, 'Our Shared Future', commits the Government to the development of a new Cost Rental housing sector in Ireland, in which the rents charged will be set to cover the costs of delivering, managing, and maintaining the homes. A number of work strands are underway to deliver Cost Rental housing, with State support, through a number of delivery pathways, utilising the expertise of Local Authorities, the Land Development Agency (LDA), and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). 

A Cost Rental Working Group was established by then Minister in 2019, bringing together representatives from the Departments of Housing, Finance, and Public Expenditure and Reform, the Housing Agency, the Housing Finance Agency, the LDA, the Residential Tenancies Board, and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council. The Group’s deliberations have informed the Government’s current plans for Cost Rental, particularly relating to the initial on-balance sheet delivery of State-supported schemes, aimed at moderate-income households, which leverage public land or other Exchequer inputs in order to achieve lower rents. In recent months my officials have undertaken further work in this regard, which led in Budget 2021 to the development of a new funding stream for Cost Rental and forthcoming legislation to regulate this new sector, as outlined below. 

A research consultancy on Cost Rental sponsored by the European Investment Bank (EIB) on behalf of my Department is also ongoing at present. The EIB has extensive experience in supporting the delivery of affordable housing across Europe, and the final consultancy report is scheduled for completion in January 2021. 

A number of Cost Rental developments are already underway. An AHB-led project at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown will deliver 50 Cost Rental homes in Quarter 3 of 2021. This has been supported by the Local Authority through low-cost land and Exchequer funding from my Department of €4 million through the Serviced Sites Fund. 

Further large-scale Cost Rental projects are planned, including a Dublin City Council-led development at Emmet Road, Inchicore, Dublin City, which is projected to deliver 375 Cost Rental homes and is currently at the design stage. A public consultation process is active, and I understand that the Council intends to lodge a planning application in early 2021. The LDA’s first project, a joint venture with Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council at Shanganagh, Shankill, includes 306 Cost Rental homes. The project received planning permission from An Bord Pleanála in July 2020 and construction is expected to begin in early 2021. 

In advance of the delivery of these developments, and in order to accelerate delivery of Cost Rental in the near term, as part of Budget 2021 I announced a specific funding stream for Cost Rental projects being undertaken by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). This Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) scheme will see €35 million of long-term loans on favourable terms made available to AHBs to support the delivery of approximately 350 Cost Rental homes next year. CREL will leverage the proven expertise and capacity of the AHBs, demonstrated in their development and management of social homes. It is anticipated that a call for CREL applications from AHBs will issue very shortly in order to facilitate the allocation of funding as soon as possible. 

When combined with the 50 Cost Rental homes to be delivered at Enniskerry Road, the additional homes under the CREL scheme should see up to 400 Cost Rental homes delivered in 2021, through a combination of SSF and CREL funding, in addition to the corresponding debt finance provided by the Housing Finance Agency. As per the underlying policy, rents for all Cost Rental units will be as a result of the cost of delivery, less State capital subvention through mechanisms such as SSF and CREL. For example, the rents at Enniskerry Road will be €1,200 per month for a two bedroom apartment, in an area where rents for comparable homes on the private market are approximately €2,000 per month. While rents for units funded through the new CREL scheme will only become clear through the application process for funding by AHBs, I expect that rents for these units will be comparable to those at Enniskerry Road. 

Finally, I also intend to place Ireland’s new Cost Rental sector on a statutory footing in the new Affordable Housing Bill, which I plan to bring to Government in the coming weeks. While precise eligibility conditions and operational matters for Cost Rental are being finalised by my officials as part of this process, this legislation will be an important element in defining and regulating this new sector. 

Photo of Aodhán Ó RíordáinAodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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262. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the position regarding the progress which has been made on the national differential rent scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42678/20]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government commits to bringing forward a package of social housing reforms, which includes standardising the differential rents regime across the country to ensure fairness.  Work on the review of the current rent schemes has been ongoing and I have asked my Department to prepare recommendations regarding the potential for a standardised local authority rents system, which I will consider in due course as part of a package of social housing reforms. 

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