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Tackling Ireland’s housing crisis
Some of the key recommendations made in The Housing Commission’s detailed review of Ireland’s housing system
GROWTH, REGENERATION & DEVELOPMENT
John O'Connor
Chair, The Housing Commission, and Senior Associate, Campbell Tickell
John O'Connor
Chair, The Housing Commission, and Senior Associate, Campbell Tickell
Issue 74 | October 2024
Following two-and-a-half years of work, the report of the Housing Commission was published in May this year. The report sets out a detailed analysis of Ireland’s housing system and includes 83 recommendations and associated actions.
Three overarching conclusions of the report are:
- Housing must be treated as a national priority to support social cohesion, underpinning economic development.
- Housing policy must strive to be consistent to drive certainty.
- An increased focus on building sustainable and integrated communities is required.
Key recommendations
Coupled with these three overarching conclusions are several key recommendations including:
- Eliminate the accumulated housing deficit through emergency exceptional measures.
- Increase social and Cost Rental housing to 20% of our national housing stock, while ensuring an appropriate tenure mix.
- Set up a Housing Delivery Oversight Executive reporting to the Minister.
- Implement specific measures to end child homelessness.
- Use state financing of housing to invest in building and adopting a revolving funding model.
- Deliver critical enabling infrastructure, including water, wastewater and electricity in advance of new house building.
- Regulate market rents fairly by establishing a system of ‘reference rents’.
In relation to delivering the housing needed, there are four key steps:
The report also sets out the vision, principles and characteristics of a well-functioning housing system. An interesting characteristic, and one of critical importance, is the need to invest in training and qualifications in the housing sector to increase skills and professionalism.
Housing associations (AHBs) and local authorities
The crucial role of housing associations and local authorities in delivering social, affordable purchase, and Cost Rental homes at scale is outlined in the report. It also includes measures required to increase the capacity of these sectors. A need for change in the social housing rental system, and a move to a cost-based system is recommended. This is particularly relevant for local authority housing and older social housing developments provided by housing associations.
The two major recommendations in these areas are:
#45: Increase the size of the social and Cost Rental housing sectors to 20% of the national housing stock so that these sectors will provide a substantial source of rented housing for lower and middle-income households in future.
#46. Provide a sustainable financing model for social housing by setting social housing rents at cost recovery rates.
In relation to the housing association sector in particular, the report provides direction for a strategy for the sector, which is currently being developed by the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage. These recommendations are focused on the development and growth of the sector in a structured way:
#55. Formulate a strategy on the role, capacity and sustainability of the Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector. The Department should formulate this strategy and set out its vision for the AHB sector.
#57. Put measures in place to increase the capacity of the AHB sector and encourage growth of more large AHBs to address concentration risks and enable more delivery.
proportion of the national housing stock the report recommends should be social and Cost Rental homes
“A need for change in the social housing rental system, and a move to a cost-based system is recommended. This is particularly relevant for local authority housing and older social housing developments provided by housing associations.”
Where is this likely to take us?
- We need to take a longer-term approach to housing, thinking in at least a 20-30-year timeframe, and building sustainable and integrated communities.
- In the provision of social / Cost Rental housing over time we need to utilise scale and debt-free housing portfolios to achieve long-term affordable rents.
- The level of ambition for the delivery of social and Cost Rental homes should increase significantly. However, the focus must be on what is good for households availing of this housing.
- There will be continued development and changes to the funding systems for the housing association sector.
- The larger housing associations will increase in size, along with the addition of additional larger associations. Coupled with this will be greater support for medium to smaller associations, which should include mergers.
- The larger housing associations will have to build their capacity, including financial, to deliver the necessary social housing
- It is expected that the government's policy will be to increase housing delivery of housing to more than 50,000 homes per annum to cater for the growing population; to cater for the ongoing reduction in household size (currently at 2.74 persons per household and likely to reduce to 2.3 persons per household by 2050 if unconstrained); and to address the current housing deficit.
- One specific recommendation that should be actioned is undertaking a comprehensive national housing condition survey every five years for all types of housing.
- A greater focus on building competency and professionalism in the housing sector.
