New €30m cost-rental scheme announced for Cork city

Plans for a €30 million cost-rental housing development in Cork city have been unveiled by housing agency Clúid.

The 88-apartment scheme will contain 73 cost-rental units and 15 social homes, and will be built by O’Callaghan Properties adjacent to the company’s existing blocks at the city’s landmark Lancaster Quay site.

The 73 cost-rental properties – a mix of one- and two-bed apartments – will be rented to qualifying tenants at sub-market rates of between €990 and €1,100 a month. Clúid said the rents were roughly 45 per cent below market rates.

Under the Government’s new cost-rental tenure model, rents must be at least 25 per cent below market values. The initiative is targeted at those on moderate incomes who are above the income threshold for social housing.

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Clúid’s announcement comes in the wake of a report from property website Daft.ie which suggested rents nationally are now rising at an annual rate of 5.6 per cent, the strongest level of growth seen since mid-2019.

The report linked the pick-up in growth to an “unprecedented scarcity” of available properties, noting there were just 2,455 homes available to rent on its website on August 1st last – three-quarters of them in Dublin. That is the lowest number since its quarterly series began in 2006.

Clúid’s new development is the second scheme to be launched under the Government’s cost-rental model, which was brought in as part of its Affordable Housing legislation. Last month the agency launched 25 cost-rental properties in Balbriggan in north Co Dublin. These received more than 1,000 applications and are now in the process of being let.

Applications for the Cork scheme will not be invited until later in the year as construction is only just under way.

Tenure

"Cost-rental is an exciting new form of tenure in Ireland. We are committed to helping people on moderate incomes to access affordable, secure tenancies in homes that suit their needs," Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien said. "Cost-rents are based solely on the cost of delivering, managing, and maintaining the apartments themselves.

“When complete this new development will be a wonderful example of a mixed-tenure community with fantastic links to the existing community in the city.” he said.

Brian O’Gorman, chief executive of Clúid Housing, said: “These new homes will provide excellent quality, long-term secure rental options for middle-income households and those struggling to rent on the open market.”

“The security of tenure and affordable rent offered here will have a significant impact on how we think about renting in Ireland.”

Under the cost-rental model tenants are expected to pay rent commensurate with cost of delivering, managing and maintaining the properties. It is one of several initiatives deployed in recent months by the Government to tackle the State’s housing crisis and comes ahead of the launch of its Housing for All strategy.