Budget 2017: Social housing for more than 21,000 households on the cards for next year

Social housing schemes are to provide homes for more than 21,000 households next year but only one sixth of that will be through new building.

Just over 3,500 homes are scheduled to be built by local authorities and voluntary housing bodies and about 1,000 more will be provided through bringing vacant homes back into use, leasing properties and providing new units under the National Regeneration Programme.

The biggest inroads will be made through a major expansion of the Housing Assistance Payment scheme which will be extended to 15,000 extra households at an additional cost of €105m — a 220% increase on the 2016 funding.

The rental allowance scheme is also being increased to assist an extra 1,000 households.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney said the 2016 target of providing 17,000 social housing solutions, through a mix of building, acquisition and other measures, would be exceeded by the end of the year.

A measure to boost the availability of affordable rental homes is the immediate increase in mortgage interest relief to 100% for landlords who rent to welfare recipients on a three-year letting agreement. Other landlords will have the increase applied incrementally over five years.

The minister also announced a 40% increase in funding to tackle homelessness, bringing the total allocated for 2017 to €98m. But he said the aim remained to have hotels in use only as emergency accommodation in limited circumstances by the middle of next year.

The Irish Council for Social Housing broadly welcomed the measures, saying the overall allocation of €1.2bn for housing — 50% up on 2016 — was a substantial commitment to addressing the crisis.

However, Donal McManus, the council’s chief executive, said it was vital the department moved quickly to release state lands to voluntary housing associations.

“Otherwise the plan for 47,000 social housing units will not be delivered by 2021,” he said.

Measures to assist specific groups include capital funding of €9m for Traveller accommodation, a 64% increase on 2016, both to provide new dwellings and repairs, and for fire safety works in existing halting sites.