Respond, Approved Housing Body (AHB) and service provider, said they are very pleased to be selected for participation in the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) Scheme. They are also involved in delivering the 50 cost-rental homes on Enniskerry Road as part of the Cost Rental Pathways project which is currently under construction.
The organisation said this announcement represents 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. The Cost Rental Equity Loan Facility (CRELF) allows AHBs to borrow up to 30% of the cost of cost rental homes from the State. Budget 2021 is the first time the Irish Government has introduced a funding scheme to finance the provision of cost rental homes.
Niamh Randall, Spokesperson for Respond said that the organisation was delighted to be involved in the scheme: “We look forward very much to working with our partners in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Housing Finance Agency, the Housing Agency and Local Authorities to provide cost rental homes for families and individuals, ensuring that people can have access to safe, secure and permanent homes. Respond have been building and managing social housing for over 38 years and we currently have 1,324 homes in construction on-site around the country. We have been involved in building the first Cost Rental Pathfinder Project with our partners on Enniskerry Road which includes 50 cost rental and 105 homes on the same site (see Editors Notes). This experience and expertise in building and managing housing developments at scale gives us confidence in providing some of the first cost rental housing in Ireland. We look forward to handing over keys to new tenants.
“For some time Respond have been advocating to have this gap addressed to provide housing for those who don’t qualify for social housing, won’t be able to afford a mortgages and yet cannot afford market rents. We have called for a sustainable and replicable model and we very much welcome Minister Darragh O’Brien’s announcement.”
