Fears are growing that house prices in Galway are set to be capped at €400,000 in the city and at €350,000 in the county, further locking out many more people from buying their own home.
This week, the Government is considering the controversial Affordable Housing Bill - a piece of legislation the Social Democrats Galway City East councillor, Owen Hanley has called “deeply concerning” - which includes a shared equity scheme.
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A shared equity scheme would see the Government offer an equity mortgage in return for a stake in the property, but this has been widely criticised by independent bodies for its potential to increase property prices, especially as the Bill will allow for private sector developers to avail of and compete with Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies for the Affordable Purchase Scheme funding.
'The squeezed middle are being offered no support and face completely unrealistic housing prices'
Fears that houses will be capped at unaffordable prices have also been exacerbated by the equally controversial Land Development Agency Bill, which will allow the Minister for Housing to specify an affordability requirement for the delivery of affordable homes for sale or rent on public lands. However the LDA defines ‘affordable’ as ‘below the prevailing market price’, which is currently more than €300,000. Critics of the Bill say that figure is also likely to increase because of the shared equity scheme.
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Such concerns have led Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, and Labour to author a joint report calling on the Government to address these, and other major areas of concern, around its approach to tackling the housing crisis.
The report calls for the shared equity scheme to be scrapped, and highlights concerns over private sector developers being able to avail of Affordable Purchase Scheme funding, and the Cost Rental Scheme, which is already tied to future developments on the Dyke Road and Sandy Road.
'Unattainable for a generation'
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The report says the Government's legislation could see private developers subsidised with taxpayers money which would result in less affordable rents. The parties are also calling for cost rental homes to have rents that are tied to income levels in order to guarantee affordability.
"The current housing crisis has been predicated on a decade of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail policy and sadly it seems we are in for no change,” said Cllr Hanley. “The squeezed middle are being offered no support and face completely unrealistic housing prices. Housing is becoming completely unattainable for a generation. Not just people in their mid-twenties like myself who can never imagine owning a home, people in their thirties and forties, working 40 hour weeks in decent jobs and simply cannot plan to live securely in their own homes."
