THE GOVERNMENT has been accused of “bailing out developers” by leasing out thousands of vacant houses and apartments from private developers for growing numbers of people on social housing waiting lists.
A detailed breakdown of figures published yesterday by the Department of the Environment shows there were over 56,000 applications for social housing as of March 2008.
Minister of State for housing Michael Finneran yesterday said long-term leasing of private developments will play a key role in the Government’s efforts to meet the housing needs of vulnerable people. He said some €20 million has been set aside this year to support the leasing of about 2,000 houses and apartments.
Officials say leasing is an attractive option as local authorities are in a strong position to get value for money for long-term rents given the depressed state of the housing market.
There are an estimated 40,000 vacant housing units in the hands of private developers, and officials say authorities should be able to secure rents at about 20 per cent or more below the market value.
While the vacancies, management and maintenance responsibilities would be transferred to the local housing authority, the property owner would remain responsible for any structural matters.
But Opposition parties accused the Government of failing to take sufficient steps to meet the growing housing needs of the population.
Fine Gael’s housing spokesman Terence Flanagan said more imaginative solutions were needed to tackle the problem, such as enabling those on housing waiting lists or currently in social housing to purchase their own home.
He said the party would increase the cap for local authority mortgage schemes to €250,000, as well as lowering VAT rates, which would reduce the price of an average house by €10,000.
The People Before Profit Alliance said long-term leasing would simply bail out developers and cost the tax payer millions of euro extra in the long-run.
Cllr Richard Boyd Barrett said the Government should take over empty housing built by bankrupt developers and use them for social housing.
“This would also create a new revenue stream for the Government, as they would be receiving rents from 56,000 new council tenants, instead of tenants’ and taxpayers’ money pouring into the pockets of private developers or landlords,” he said.
Housing charities, meanwhile, say latest official figures for housing waiting lists – collected in March 2008 – are out of date. The real numbers are likely to be significantly higher given the sharp increases in unemployment over the past year and a half.
Mr Finneran yesterday insisted the Government was making good progress in tackling the issue and that the housing needs of some 20,000 households had been met last year.
He also speculated that a decrease in the number of foreign nationals in the State would reduce the numbers on social housing waiting lists. Latest figures show foreign nationals account for about one-quarter of social housing applicants.