The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) has called on the Government to introduce a new funding model for social housing in the upcoming Budget in the form of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The purpose of this SPV would be to facilitate private financing of housing associations to deliver social housing which is ‘off balance sheet’.
Resources need to match new social housing strategy expectation
The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) has called on the Government to tackle the deepening housing crisis in Budget 2015 as a national priority. In its pre-budget submission the ICSH is calling for an expansion of the social housing programme to target the housing needs of the most vulnerable in society and those in priority need of affordable rental housing.
Completing the Annual Return
One of the main tools used by the regulation office to link in with housing associations for regulation purposes is the Annual Return Form. The section below works through the current Annual return form and provides guidance on information requested from specific sections.
What can be expected when we sign up?
The website for the Housing Agency Regulation Office is now live and can be accessed at www.housing.ie/regulation.
The website contains information on the Voluntary Regulation Code (VRC) as well as a list of approved housing bodies that have signed up to the VRC. The website also contains publications regarding the VRC, its charter of commitments and other governance issues.
A circular has recently been issued giving guidance to housing associations regarding the discharge of the mortgage deed where the mortgage deed has expired. The circular can be downloaded as follows:
Press Release
20th May 2014
The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) today welcomes the approval by Cabinet of the Implementation Plan on the State's Response to Homelessness.
Mr Donal McManus, Executive Director, ICSH said 'The measures outlined in the plan published today are wide ranging and practical and the ICSH welcome the key role which will be played by Approved Housing Bodies in its implementation'.
The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government recently wrote to all approved housing bodies informing them of the establishment of an interim Regulatory Committee and the publication of the register of approved housing bodies on the DECLG's website (www.environ.ie).
Further information on both these development is availble in the letter which can be downloaded here.
A newly identified social housing need of nearly 90,000 households has highlighted a looming supply crisis with the problem worsening in the Dublin area, according to the Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH).
The new report from the Housing Agency – the 2013 Housing Needs Assessment - shows the scale of local authority housing needs across the country.
Non-profit housing associations could help find homes for up to 5,000 families and vulnerable groups such as older people and those with disabilities, a new survey by the Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) has found.
And ICSH warned that this is vital at a time when pressure for social housing is building rapidly, especially in Dublin.
15th October 2013
The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) has today called for a ‘social dividend’ from the NAMA investment announced in Budget 2014 which is to include construction of 4,500 homes and apartments in Dublin. This would ensure that these properties will be used to house households in most housing need.