Green Party welcomes new cost-rental and vacancy measures

The Green Party has welcomed a series of measures agreed by the Government today to ramp up the provision of affordable “cost rental’ properties and to increase grants to renovate vacant homes.

The cost rental model means that a tenant’s rent only covers the cost of building and maintaining the property and does not include a profit margin for a landlord. This means that it works out at least 25% cheaper than standard market rents.

The Green Party has consistently championed this model and ensured a commitment was included to build at least 2,000 homes a year under the Government’s Housing for All plan.

Today’s decision by Cabinet will see a subvention of up to €750m provided for the construction of an additional 4,000 to 6,000 cost rental units in urban areas by the Land Development Agency by 2028 for people earning less than €53,000 after tax. This should ensure that people on low to average salaries should be able to afford to continue living in our cities. This new policy will provide a subsidy of approximately €125,000 per apartment.

Green Party housing spokesperson Francis Noel Duffy TD said today:

“The introduction of cost-rental homes and making vacant dwellings available to the market have always been key Green Party policies. I am delighted the government has chosen to further enhance these housing objectives.”

Renovation is usually the most environmentally friendly way to increase housing stock. The grants were also expanded to cover all vacant and derelict homes built before 2007, and they have been made available to landlords as well as owner-occupiers.

Green Party planning Spokesperson Steven Matthews TD welcomed the €20,000 increase in the grants to renovate vacant and derelict houses;

“As Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Housing, I work closely with Minister O’Brien on many proposals in relation to increasing the provision of housing and I welcome the announcement this morning increasing both the level of funding available for bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use but also the number of properties that qualify for the grant support.  This is one of the cheapest and most environmentally sustainable ways of addressing the housing crisis and bringing life and vibrancy back to our towns and villages.”