Success of Repair and Lease Scheme in Waterford should be replicated nationwide – Cummins

The continued progress and success of the Repair and Lease Scheme in Waterford should be replicated Nationwide, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Senator Cummins, Fine Gael Seanad Spokesperson on Housing, was speaking after the announcement on Thursday from Waterford City and County Council that €4.2m in funding has been approved through the Government’s Repair and Lease Scheme to repurpose St Joseph’s House on Manor Hill in Waterford City.

“The latest announcement will deliver 71 residential units within the historic St Joseph’s House and vacant buildings on this iconic city centre site in Waterford City and will predominately be geared at older persons.

“This is a project which I have worked extensively on with Walsh & Sheehan Ltd and Waterford Council from concept, right through to approval stage and I look forward to works starting on site in early course.

“In recent months I had Minister of State Peter Burke TD visit the site and I want to thank him for his support of the project.

“This is a further example of the Repair and Lease scheme working in Waterford. Even before this announcement and since the Repair and Lease Scheme was launched in Waterford as a pilot through Rebuilding Ireland, Waterford has delivered nearly 50% of all Repair and Lease units nationally. That shouldn’t be the case, other local authorities really need to step up to the plate and specific targets need to be set by Minister O’Brien for each LA area.

The scheme has had a dramatic impact. It has rejuvenated areas of the city centre and delivered much needed one and two bedroom units, which everyone involved in homeless services will say is key to tackling the issue. As a result, Waterford city and county council have been able to reduce the number of families in emergency accommodation by 93% in the period 2017 to the end of 2020 and individual homeless figures by 55%, despite presentations to the homeless action team effectively doubling in the same period.

“Waterford City and County Council has led the way on this, and we need to use this as an example nationally of what can be achieved through the scheme. If it can work in Waterford on old historic buildings like this, it can work everywhere.

ENDS

Note for editor

The Repair and Lease Scheme was introduced by Fine Gael in 2017 to bring vacant and derelict properties back into use for social housing purposes. Under the scheme the owner can get support of up to €60,000 per residential unit of the up-front costs of renovating a property. This is fully recouped by the state as an offset against the agreed rent over the course of a long-term lease.

There are a number of requirements in relation to the scheme:

• the property has to be vacant for at least 12 months prior to submission: proof of vacancy will be required
• there has to be a social housing demand for the property
• the property has to be assessed as being viable to provide social housing.

If the property meets these requirements it will be inspected by local authority or AHB staff who will identify the works that are required to bring the house up to the required standard. If the owner wishes to enter into a lease arrangement to make the property available for social housing with the local authority or Approved Housing Body, the following conditions will apply –

• the lease term must be between 10 and 20 years, depending on the cost of the upgrade works
• the lease payments to the property owner will based on:

• the general terms of social leasing which is set at 80% (85% for apartments) of the current market rental rates in the property location
• a further adjustment to the lease payment to off-set the cost of the repair/upgrade work until the cost of the work has been repaid.

The scope and cost of the works required to meet the Standards, and the recoupment of the works cost through the lease payments, will be agreed between the owner and the local authority/ AHB.