Offical Opening of first purpose built cost rental homes in Ireland

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien T.D. opened Ireland’s first purpose build cost rental homes today. The scheme of 155 homes (50 cost rental and 105 social housing) is delivered by Respond and Tuath Approved Housing Bodies in partnership with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Housing Agency and the Housing Finance Agency.

‘Woodside’ in Stepaside (Dublin) is a unique development. The homes will be managed by Respond and Tuath Housing.  The homes are a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom properties. All of the 50 Cost Rental homes are 2-bedroom apartments. The Cost Rental apartments will be let at a monthly rent of €1,200, a significant reduction when compared to market rents for 2-bedroom apartments in this location. The rent charged to tenants will cover the cost of delivering, managing and maintaining these homes and will not be driven by market movements.

Niamh Randall, Spokeperson for Respond said: “Respond are delighted to be involved in such a unique collaboration, bringing these 50 Cost Rental Homes to people who have been caught in an impossible situation where they do not qualify for social housing yet a mortgage is out of their reach. Some tenants have been struggling to pay high rents in the Private Rental Sector. Cost rental is a new departure in the delivery of housing in Ireland, providing a new type of housing tenure in addition to social housing, private renting and private purchase. Respond have been advocating for some time for a sustainable and replicable cost rental model.  We very much look forward to working with our partners to deliver additional cost rental homes around the country to those who are eligible in areas where they are needed.”

Daragh O’Sullivan, Chairman of Tuath Housing commented: “Tuath are proud to partner with Respond on this ground-breaking development of Ireland’s first purpose-built cost rental scheme combined with 105 high quality homes for social rent in beautiful surroundings. We were also delighted to have worked closely on the delivery of these homes with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, the Housing Agency, the Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage. The rent paid by tenants will cover the cost of providing, managing and maintaining the homes for decades to come, and not a cent more. This flagship project offers moderate income households a much more affordable, long-term and secure form of rental tenure with the added benefit that their rent will not be driven by future price hikes in the private rental market. We are pleased to be working on another six cost rental schemes and we look forward to allocating 250 properties throughout 2022 and 2023”.

Commenting Minister O’Brien said, “It’s my absolute pleasure to officially open Woodside here on the Enniskerry Road in Stepaside which consists of 105 social homes and 50 cost rental homes which will be managed and maintained by both Tuath and Respond Housing Associations. The Government’s Housing for All plan sets us on a pathway to delivering 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030. 90,000 of these will be social homes and 18,000 of these will be Cost Rental homes. Development’s such as this one which has been championed by Tuath and Respond with the support of my Department and South Dublin County Council are exactly what the Government want to, and will, deliver at scale. I want to commend everyone who played their role in bringing this project to fruition and wish all of the people who will make their home here the very best of luck.”

CEO of the Housing Agency Bob Jordan: “We warmly welcome the official opening of the Woodside Development at Enniskerry Road, which will provide 155 much needed social and cost rental homes. The Housing Agency is playing a key role in the national rollout of cost rental homes, and we were pleased to transfer land to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for this first cost rental development on public land in Ireland. The Housing Agency has worked closely with the local authority as well as with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Tuath, Respond, and the Housing Finance Agency in delivering this project. We look forward to working together on future developments and we wish the tenants of Enniskerry Road many happy years in their new homes.”

CEO of the Housing Finance Agency, Barry O’Leary: ‘The HFA is delighted to support Respond and Tuath with this major new mixed use development on the Enniskerry Road which will provide a combination of 155 social and affordable cost rental homes for families in and around Dun Laoghaire Rathdown. We remain committed to supporting the strong delivery of social and affordable homes across the country and will continue to provide competitively priced long term fixed rate finance to Respond, Tuath and others in the sector.’

Cathaoirleach Lettie McCarthy:“I am delighted to be here to open the first purpose built cost rental housing scheme in Ireland. This development will provide much needed housing to the people of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and it is wonderful to see a development which will provide security of tenure to its residents. I look forward to seeing similar schemes in the future.”