The Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government (DoEHLG) provides capital funding schemes for the building or acquisition of rental accommodation by not-for-profit approved housing bodies. Approved housing bodies include both co-operative housing societies and voluntary housing associations or trusts which meet the requirements of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government as regards their objects or aims and legal incorporation etc. and have received approved status under Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. The National Association of Building Co-operatives assists bona fide, not-for-profit, co-operative housing societies to obtain approved housing body status.
The Capital Funding Schemes are administered by the local authorities, who deal with the approval of applications, subject to sanction of funding by the Department, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the particular funding scheme under which an application has been made by an approved housing body:-
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Capital Loan and Subsidy Scheme
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Capital Assistance Scheme
All funding applications are subject to prior consultation with the relevant local authority, appraisal of the proposed housing development and the housing needs to be met, together with the proper application of public procurement procedures as regards recruitment of technical consultants, construction tenders and awards of contracts funded from the Schemes.
The Capital Loan & Subsidy Scheme provides for a 30 year mortgage loan by a local authority to an approved housing body (from funds advanced by the state Housing Finance Agency following sanction/approval from the DoEHLG) in respect of costs incurred for site acquisition and the building of rental houses or apartments and related amenities, or for the acquisition of suitable housing units, including technical and legal fees etc. The dwellings must meet the required planning, design and floor area standards.
The terms and conditions of the Capital Loan and Subsidy Scheme provide that an annual subsidy is credited to the mortgage loan account of the approved housing body in respect of the load repayments and interest due, provided that the dwellings continue to be let to eligible persons/families and are properly managed and maintained. The rent payable is related to the household income circumstances of each tenant as assessed each year and taking account of formula conditions specified in the Scheme. An annual management and maintenance subsidy allowance is payable by the local authority (from funds advanced by the DoEHLG) in respect of each dwelling, following submission of claim details by the approved housing body showing ongoing compliance with the requirements of the Scheme.
An approved co-operative housing society (or voluntary housing association or trust) using this funding scheme is the beneficial owner of the dwellings and is responsible for the ongoing management, upkeep and maintenance, the fixing and collection of rents, together with the allocation of tenancies, aimed at relieving local authority social housing waiting list needs, in accordance with the requirements of the Scheme, and the overall good performance of the housing service.
The Capital Assistance Scheme provides for the issue of 30 year mortgage loans to approved housing bodies by local authorities (from grants allocated in respect of rental housing projects approved for funding by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government). The Scheme has been used quite widely by voluntary housing associations involved in the provision of special needs housing. Technical standards for the planning, design and floor areas of the dwellings must be met by the approved housing bodies.
The Scheme provides for a waiver of the loan repayments and interest due in respect of the mortgage loan borrowed by the approved housing body from the local authority, subject to continued use of the dwellings funded for the accommodation of eligible persons/families, mainly nominated from the local authority social housing waiting lists. The rents payable are related to the management and maintenance costs and the income circumstances of the tenants. The tenants may qualify for social welfare supplementary assistance towards their housing costs, or benefit from a rental accommodation scheme arrangement with the approved housing body for subsidisation of rents. The approved housing body is responsible for the allocation of tenancies in accordance with the requirements of the Scheme, together with the ongoing fixing and collection of rents. There must also be ongoing good standards of housing management and maintenance.
Provision also exists in the Schemes for financial assistance towards the cost of providing communal welfare facilities/rooms or buildings in the housing developments. While the main source of funding for co-operative social rented housing to date has been the Capital Loan and Subsidy Scheme, a small number of dwellings have also been funded under the Capital Assistance Scheme.
References: Memorandum VHU 2/02
Circular VCH 2/08
Funding Application Standard Templates
issued by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Voluntary and Co-operative Housing Grants Section, Government Offices, Ballina, Co Mayo.