Search Results for 'Affordable housing'

Mayo County Council has received over 600 responses from people interested in availing of an affordable housing scheme if one becomes available in the county.

Affordability of housing in Mayo is now at a crisis point, Mayo Fine Gael TD Alan Dillon highlighted during ministerial questioning in the Dáil. Deputy Dillon expressed disappointment that Mayo County Council has been excluded from the national affordable housing five-year delivery targets despite the problems that exist. At present no scheme has been approved to provide affordable housing in the county and this is having a negative impact on future economic development in the county. "There is a shortage of affordable homes to rent or purchase in parts of the county, especially in towns such as Westport, Castlebar and Ballina." Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien explained an identified level of affordable housing need arises where, of the projected housing need in the county, more than five per cent of new households would not qualify. "The level of affordability constrained need in Mayo is assessed at below five per cent. I understand there are localised affordability issues, particularly in Westport and also potentially in Ballina. We are happy to consider those issues. Where local authorities have localised affordability measures, as is the case in the two towns in question, they can still apply to the Department for funding to develop affordable housing schemes if they can demonstrate that an affordable scheme is needed to address those localised affordability challenges and they can meet the criteria for the fund. I am confident that can be done. As regards Mayo in particular, in June 2021 a scheme was submitted for 25 homes in Westport under the previous fund, namely, the Serviced Sites Fund. We have told Mayo County Council that it can resubmit that to the new fund and I understand work is ongoing between my Department and the council on that." Minister O’Brien informed Deputy Dillon of KPMG’s ongoing work for Mayo County Council on the future analytics side, to prove the affordability constraint in pressure areas within Mayo, and following the conclusion of KPMG work this month his Department has agreed to meet with Mayo County Council in June. Deputy Dillon said Mayo has the fourth-lowest market house price in the country but that is certainly not reflective of the open market price of new-build homes in areas such as Westport, Castlebar and Ballina. Some of these A-rated new premises are on the market for between €270,000 and €350,000. He said: "I am delighted to see Mayo County Council has been proactive. It reached out to the public in Mayo, seeking information to understand better the demand for affordable housing, including locations of choice and the affordability constraints of potential applicants. The threshold for social housing in Mayo is €25,000. Many people are above that threshold but caught within the squeezed-middle bracket. It is important that we respond to these pressure areas. Mayo has significant issues in respect of vacancy and dereliction. Increasing housing supply in the area would be an important step forward."

Rents in Connacht rose 19.7 per cent year-on-year, reflecting very low availability - just 126 homes were available to rent on May 1, down almost 60 per cent compared to a year ago according to the latest daft.ie report.

The Simon Communities of Ireland’s quarterly Locked Out report shows yet another stark decline in the availability of affordable properties to rent by people reliant on Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme.

Westmeath County Council, in line with Housing for All, is actively considering the development of affordable housing over the coming years at a number of locations in the county.

Social housing rents must be reviewed in the light of the current “cost of living crisis”, especially as the Galway City Council has the power to do this.

A TD has written to the chief executives, and heads of housing, at both the Galway city and county councils, asking them to freeze rents for social housing tenants for this year.

The overall average increase in property prices for 2021 was just short of 12pc, with great variations across the country, according to the latest Residential Property Price Barometer by IPAV, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers, which captures house prices actually achieved by auctioneers for three- and four-bedroom semi-detached homes and two-bedroom apartments.

Rents are continuing to rise in the city, with a recent report showing they have increased by more than eight per cent, while homelessness in Galway has risen by 42 per cent in the last 12 months.