James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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247. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to transform commercial property on main streets into housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25250/21]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Planning and Development (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2018, which came into operation on 8 February 2018, provide for an exemption from the requirement to obtain planning permission in respect of the change of use of certain vacant commercial premises, including vacant areas above ground floor premises, to residential use.

This measure is aimed at facilitating the productive re-use of qualifying vacant commercial buildings as homes, while also facilitating urban renewal and the bringing on stream of increased housing supply.

The Regulations operate for a limited period until 31 December 2021, which has now been extended to 25 February 2022 arising from the Covid-related shutdown of the planning system for 8 weeks during the period March to May 2020, which extended all planning timelines by 8 weeks.

The planning exemptions provided for in the Planning Regulations are kept under regular review.

Action 60 of the recently launched Our Rural Future – Rural Development Policy 2021 to 2025 commits to reviewing and extending the regulations which exempt certain vacant commercial premises, such as “over the shop” type spaces, from requiring planning permission for change of use for residential purposes in accordance with housing activation and Town Centre First policies.

The regulations will be reviewed before their expiry and I will bring forward any legislative amendments considered appropriate. Under section 262(4) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, legislative proposals in relation to exempted development require the approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas before they can be signed into law.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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248. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the regulatory measures in place through local authorities or the Housing Agency under leasing arrangements; the payment and availability agreements through enhanced leasing in cases in which State funding has been provided to private operators and investors in relation to the provision of housing; the specific due diligence arrangements in place for these private organisations in receipt of funding to ensure value for money, satisfactory corporate governance and efficient housing management services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25306/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Enhanced Leasing Scheme was introduced in 2018 in order to encourage social housing leasing at a reasonable scale in order to supplement social housing delivery under other programmes. All potential proposals are submitted by the proposers to the Housing Agency for initial assessment and co-ordination with local authorities. The proposal is then submitted to my Department for approval.

Under the scheme, the relevant housing authority is the landlord to the social housing tenant - nominated in accordance with their Scheme of Letting Priorities - and must ensure the Lessor discharges their obligations under the lease, including the delivery of management services in a manner consistent with the terms of the agreement. The enhanced leasing agreement is a performance-based contract where deductions apply to the rent if the management services requirements are not adequately performed. Prior to an enhanced lease commencing, the housing authority and the Lessor agree a Management Plan for the scheme to ensure efficient housing management services are delivered to tenants in line with the terms of the agreement.

Lease payments are paid to the property owner based on a discounted market rent, with the level of discount reflecting the maintenance responsibilities taken on by the owner. The maximum lease term is 25 years and rents are reviewed every 3 years linked to the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP). All enhanced leasing proposals submitted to my Department must be accompanied by an independent valuation of the market rent for the properties, carried out by, or commissioned and paid for by, the relevant local authority.

The role of the Housing Agency is to assist housing authorities and my Department with the administration of the scheme. As part of the due diligence process for Enhanced Leasing, the Housing Agency engages with the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) and legal advisors, as required, to assess the ability of the proposed leasing entity to deliver the proposed dwellings and to provide the property maintenance services required. The Lessor’s legal status, funding position and operational structure are assessed as part of this process. The Agency liaises with the housing authority throughout the process to ensure that all required documentation is provided by the Lessor. Prospective Lessors are also subject to assessment by the solicitors acting on behalf of the housing authority.

While the Housing Agency acts as a national coordinator for the scheme, housing authorities retain their responsibilities in relation to social housing provision; assessment of social housing need and suitability, and tenancy management. At end 2020, a total of 113 Enhanced Leasing arrangements had been entered into by housing authorities.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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249. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason for the introduction of enhanced leasing; the private organisations that were involved in seeking the introduction of the enhanced leasing scheme; the analysis that had been made on the impact on the introduction of the enhanced leasing scheme, the delivery gap or target group that enhanced leasing was intended to fill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25307/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Following the launch of the Social Housing Strategy 2020, a wide variety of stakeholders expressed an interest in being involved in the provision or financing of social housing across the country. On foot of a wide variety of interest from stakeholders in being involved in the provision of social housing, a structured, formal process was put in place to facilitate engagement with such parties. The Clearing House Group (CHG) was established to examine and consider proposals and to meet with the companies, groups and institutions involved. The CHG comprised representatives from:

- Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government;

- Department of Finance;

- Department of Public Expenditure and Reform;

- Dublin City Council; and

- The Housing Agency; The National Economic and Social Council (NESC).

The CHG was a sub-group of the Finance Work Stream, one of the governance structures of the Social Housing Strategy 2020. The examination of proposals was a complex task and despite a high level of engagement with potential providers, none of the proposals met the criteria that would enable them to be considered off-balance sheet. The summary table below details each of the 25 proposers who made submissions to the CHG. Included also are the dates on which the proposers met with the Clearing House Group.

In the period after the Clearing House Group concluded its work, my Department, the National Development Finance Agency, the Housing Agency and local authorities worked to develop a new set of long-term leasing arrangements, culminating in the development of the Enhanced Leasing Scheme. The scheme was introduced in order to encourage social housing leasing at a reasonable scale in order to supplement social housing delivery under other programmes.

A spending review and analysis of capital and current expenditure on housing supports has been carried out by the Irish Government Economic & Evaluation Service (IGEES) staff within the Department of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, published in July 2018. This report focuses on the comparative analysis of delivery streams particularly related to cost effectiveness, including leasing. This report can be found at the following link: