By Rose Barrett
Twenty-five homes at Taylor Hill, Balbriggan were officially announced on Wednesday last, as Ireland’s first cost rental homes.
In partnership with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, Clúid Housing announced the delivery of the scheme which incorporates amix of two, three and four-bedroom residences.
Under the Cost Rental Scheme, rents for the homes are set at a minimum of 25% below open market values. Monthly rents at Taylor Hill start from €935, with applications officially opened on the Clúid website on Wednesday, July 7. The properties will be available for occupation in early August.
390 homes
Cost Rental is a new form of tenure in Ireland where residents will pay rents that are solely based on the cost to build, manage, and maintain the homes. Budget 2021 ringfenced €35m for the pilot scheme which offers renters a long-term secure tenancy, so long as the rent is paid and conditions of tenancy are met.
Wednesday’s announcement comes as a result of the government’s support for Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to deliver approximately 390 pilot cost rental homes under Housing for All, with 50 more houses currently in development on the Enniskerry Road.
Under the Affordable Housing Bill 2021, the Cost Rental Scheme will enable Clúid to set rents for this development at below the market average: 2 bed house – €935 per calendar month; 3 bed house – €1,100 per calendar month and 4 bed house to rent at €1,150 per month.
Eligibility
Semi-furnished with white goods and flooring supplied, Taylor Hill is conveniently located close to all amenities and services. Applicants must have a net household income below €53,000 per annum; not be in receipt of any social housing supports nor own a property;
household size matches the size of the property advertised; can afford to pay the cost rent for the home and only entered one application for a specific cost rental property.”
Should more applications be received than properties available, completed applications will be selected at random, the selection process will be automated and auditable.
At Wednesday’s launch, Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, TD stated the event was a really exciting milestone in delivering cost rental.
“Establishing cost rental as a new form of tenure in Ireland was a key commitment in the Programme for Government. In under a year, we have announced funding for this new model, opened a call for proposals from our AHB sector, put cost rental on a legislative footing, and now here we are, announcing the first cost rental homes,” he said.
The 25 homes at Taylor’s Hill are being purchased by Clúid from Glenveagh who delivered a mix of private, social, and now cost rental homes at Balbriggan.
Fiona Cormican, Clúid’s New Business Director, commented:
“Clúid’s vision is ‘a society where everyone has a great place to live’. We are so grateful for the opportunity to deliver these first cost rental homes in partnership with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Housing Agency, the Housing Finance Agency, Fingal County Council and Glenveagh.”
“For the first time,” she continued “we are seeing truly mixed tenure communities. Here in Balbriggan, we now see cost rental, private, and social homes altogether in this high-quality development.”
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