Written answer
Housing Provision
1902. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to consider the introduction of a housing waiting list for affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59227/26]
Comment on this
For affordable homes purchased under the Affordable Purchase Scheme, now referred to as the Starter Home Purchase Scheme, purchasers pay a price for their new home in accordance with their own individual purchasing power. This is calculated as outlined in Affordable Housing Regulations of 2023 and will vary from person to person depending on their income, mortgage, deposit and the amount of savings contributed to the purchase. Calculations are based on the previous 12 months income as at the date of application.
The equity share provided to a customer under the scheme is through the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) subsidy. This is available to local authorities as a direct subvention on local authority housing development costs at rates of €50,000, €75,000, €100,000, and €150,000 per affordable unit depending on –
the density of housing units per hectare on the development, and
where the development is located.
As such, the amount of AHF support available for a given development is dependent on a range of variables, such as the location, the scale of the development and the size and type of the homes involved, together with the cost of labour and materials applied to the project in question.
In addition, each local authority will have a Scheme of Priority for the allocation of homes which comes into effect when a development is oversubscribed, i.e. there are more eligible applicants than properties available in a given scheme. The Affordable Housing Act 2021 allows for the Scheme of Priority to include matters such as priority be given to applicants based upon date and time of application and priority given to eligible applicants in relation to a particular dwelling, or class of dwelling, having regard to the size or composition of the eligible applicant’s household.
Given the variables associated with both the level of support a Local Authority can provide in a given development and the minimum purchase price that a specific purchaser would be required to pay, and the Schemes of Priorities guiding allocation, there are no plans to introduce a waiting list for affordable homes.