Number of units anticipated to be secured through long-term lease in each of the years 2019 to 2021

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the number of units anticipated to be secured through long-term lease in each of the years 2019 to 2021; the amount to be spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

Over the course of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan, the Government is committed to meeting the housing needs of over 138,000 households. This will be achieved through blended delivery, involving increasing the social housing stock by 50,000 homes, through build, acquisition and leasing programmes, and supporting some 88,000 further households through the Housing Assistance Payment and the Rental Accommodation Scheme.

Of the 50,000 social housing homes to be delivered under Rebuilding Ireland,  over 10,000 homes will be leased by local authorities and approved housing bodies under leasing arrangements from a range of different sources, including direct leasing by local authorities and approved housing bodies, the Repair and Leasing Scheme, the Mortgage to Rent Scheme and Enhanced Leasing.  The exact blend of delivery under leasing in any given year will depend on the availability of existing stock and new homes in any particular county.

A total of 2,130 dwellings are targeted to be delivered under leasing in 2019; the target increases to 2,631 dwellings in 2020 and is set at 2,450 dwellings in 2021. It should be noted that progress by each local authority against target under Rebuilding Ireland is published quarterly on my Department’s website. 

Leasing is funded under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP), which also meets the current costs of dwellings delivered by approved housing bodies under the CALF and Housing Agency Acquisitions Programmes. The SHCEP budget for 2019 is just under €155 million. An allocation of €191 million has been secured for SHCEP in 2020, which is an increase of €36 million on the 2019 allocation. The allocation for SHCEP in 2021 will form part of the annual estimates process.