The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, TD, and Chief Executive of The Housing Agency, Bob Jordan, have launched a call for Expressions of Interest in the Government’s proposed Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme. The venture hopes to increase supply of owner-occupier apartments and provide those who wish to purchase a home with a greater choice.
The Scheme is expected to deliver up to 5,000 additional apartments for individuals seeking to buy a home in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. It will also support the Government’s objectives of compact growth and creating vibrant liveable cities for people who want to live close to work and urban amenities.
Under the proposed scheme, a major initiative in Housing for All, the Government’s housing plan to 2030, a viability fund will help kick-start construction of apartment schemes in the five cities, activating some of the estimated 70,000 un-commenced planning permissions across the country.
Building on the evidence provided in reports by the Society of Chartered Surveyors and others, the Scheme is targeting the activation of existing planning permissions for apartment developments over four-storeys high that cost more to build than they can be sold for to individual buyers. The Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme will bridge the viability gap for those developments deemed to meet the eligibility criteria and the support is only payable at the point of final conveyance to an eligible owner-occupier. The Government has allocated €450 million for the Scheme up to 2026.
The Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme will be managed by The Housing Agency on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Over the next six weeks The Housing Agency will be accepting Expressions of Interest from proposers for eligible schemes.
Expressions of Interest close on 21 June 2022. See here. Proposals must submitted using the eTenders platform.