Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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190. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of cost-rental units delivered in 2021; and the targets for cost-rental housing delivery for the years 2022-2025. [12087/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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This Government has committed to the development of a new, more affordable, and more secure form of long-term rental housing in Ireland, through the introduction of Cost Rental. Rent levels for Cost Rental tenancies are based on the cost of the provision of homes, rather than being subject to the pressures of the open market. Once tenanted, rents will increase only in line with consumer inflation, remaining stable in real terms, while continuing to cover management and maintenance costs for the properties. Cost Rental homes will be delivered by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Land Development Agency (LDA) and local authorities.

A Housing Delivery Action Plan prepared by each Local Authority will underpin delivery of affordable purchase and cost rental homes to 2026. Each local authority submitted the first iteration of their plans in December and my officials have now met with each authority. I expect that the final Delivery Action Plans will be published in Q2.

The first 65 Cost Rental homes were tenanted in 2021, with 25 at Taylor Hill in Balbriggan and a further 40 at Barnhall Meadows in Leixlip. The latter were completed in December, with cost-covering rents at least 40% below comparable open-market prices in the area: 2-bed houses with rent of €900 per month and 3-bed houses at €1,250 per month. These homes were provided by AHBs and supported by Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) funding. The COVID-19 pandemic, and associated closures and restrictions of construction sites, had significant impacts on the anticipated timelines for the delivery of Cost Rental developments in 2021.

AHBs are targeting the provision of up to 700 homes through CREL in 2022. In addition, another 50 two-bedroom Cost Rental apartments are in the final stages of completion at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, by the Respond and Tuath AHBs, alongside 105 social housing units. This project is the result of an innovative collaboration between the two AHBs and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The 50 Cost Rental apartments are due to be tenanted over the next few weeks.

Over the period to 2030, Housing for All commits to delivering a total of 18,000 Cost Rental homes, and delivery will incrementally increase to an average of 2,000 Cost Rental homes per year. The delivery of these homes will be supported by funding across three delivery strands: AHBs supported by CREL funding; Local Authorities through the Affordable Housing Fund and the LDA, either on their portfolio of sites, or through Project Tosaigh.