Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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392. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he has given any consideration to further extending the buy and repair scheme to allow local authorities to provide cost rental homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37199/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Buy and Renew Scheme supports Local Authorities in purchasing and renewing housing units in need of repair, which can then be made available for social housing use. Local Authorities have already purchased c.750 homes for social housing use. I have asked Local Authorities to increasingly target vacant and derelict properties that can be brought back to use as part of new public housing delivery, particularly where good value for money can be obtained and there is no impact on the local property market and I have assured them of my Department's support in this regard.

Local Authorities will continue to tackle such vacancy and dereliction through an increasingly construction-led approach to deliver new social homes on existing sites and to support town centre and urban improvements. The Buy and Renew Scheme will remain a social housing delivery mechanism and given the current demand for social housing across all local authorities, the principal aim of the scheme remains the provision of social housing.

Cost Rental is a new form of private rental tenure the conditions for which are set out in Part 3 of the Affordable Housing Act 2022. Any owner of a property can apply to the Minister for its designation as a Cost Rental dwelling under the provisions of section 29 of the Act. More broadly, funding for the provision of Cost Rental homes by local authorities is already available through the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF), with funding to Approved Housing Bodies via the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL). The AHF provides a direct Exchequer subvention of up to €100,000 per unit to a Local Authority, with the remaining funds being generally provided through Housing Finance Agency provided competitive rates of borrowing. The tenant rent is utilised to repay these loans and cover the ongoing costs of provision, rather than requiring the full amount from Exchequer sources.

This AHF grant funding for affordable homes, including Cost Rental homes, is being targeted at new build properties in order to increase the overall housing stock. Cost Rental also works best when undertaken on projects which deliver a significant number of homes, where the economies of providing, managing and maintaining groups of properties can reduce the overall costs of provision when modelled over the 40-year cost calculation period.

At present, there are no plans to extend the buy and renew scheme to include of Cost Rental homes.

Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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393. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will request that local authorities set targets to provide social housing through the repair and lease scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37200/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Repair and Leasing Scheme (RLS) brings vacant properties in need of repair back into use for social housing. The scheme is a crucial initiative in tackling vacancy under Housing for Allbecause in addition to providing social housing, it also has additional benefits in terms of regeneration, employment and investment in local areas. It assists private property owners, local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in utilising existing vacant housing stock throughout the country.

RLS is a demand led scheme, with a delivery target of 120 units for 2022, and all local authorities are encouraged and supported to maximise delivery under the scheme. My Department will however shortly commence work with the vacant homes officers in each local authority to set targets that are both ambitious and achievable.