More than 900 applications submitted for 32 affordable-rental homes in Co Cork

A housing body received more than 900 applications for 32 affordable-rental homes in Co Cork in a period of just two days this week. Respond housing said the “huge volume” of interest in the homes, which will be available at a rate 25 per cent below market rents, underlines the “level of need and demand” for affordable housing.

The housing body said it expected the first tenants would move into the homes, located southeast of Glanmire, by “about November”. Applications opened last Wednesday and will close next Wednesday.

Respond spokeswoman Niamh Randall said that if the model could be provided “at scale” across the State it would be “a game-changer” for the rental sector and entire housing market. “The huge interests does point to the pressure on the housing market and the pressure people are under in relation to it,” she said. “This model is something that we’ve advocated for long time, and we believe it is a game-changer in terms of housing policy in Ireland that it is offering this more affordable rental option for people.”

The Glanmire homes, comprised of eight three-bedroom houses, eight two-bedroom houses, eight two-bedroom duplex apartments and eight one-bedroom apartments, are likely to be priced at between €840 and €1,085 per month. The tenancies will be secure as long as the tenancy agreements are upheld.

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Property website Daft.ie had just two properties available to rent in Glanmire on Friday, both four-bed homes seeking €2,200 and €2,800 per month respectively.

Asked how the successful applicants would be chosen Ms Randall said all applications would be reviewed to ensure they met the criteria including that they are not in receipt of any social housing supports, do not own another property and their household size matches the property size. They would then be chosen by lottery.

“The successful tenants will feel they have won the lotto, yes, and we will have huge regrets for the people who will be disappointed,” Ms Randall added. “I’d say, ‘keep an eye out’. Obviously when we have more of these options available we will be advertising them.”

Further affordable-rental schemes were planned for Cork and Dublin. “It is a very new model in Ireland. We’d be anxious to do as much as we can into the future because there is a need out there. It’s something people are really, really interested in.”

Respond worked with Cork City Council and the Department of Housing on the development. Cost-rental is not-for-profit housing, whereby the rents charged reflect the cost of the construction, management, and maintenance only.

A number of other cost-rental scheme which have opened in recent months in the Dublin region have been heavily over-subscribed.