HOUSING IS THE number one topic coming up at the doorsteps during canvassing, according to general election candidates.

An acute supply of housing and affordable rents is a frequent talking point during this election, as it has been during previous campaigns, as more and more voters demand better action to tackle the ongoing crisis.

So, where does each party stand?

Targets

According to a report by the Housing Commission this year, there is currently a deficit of 250,000 homes in the country. It recommended that the government make up the difference through delivering a mix of private and public homes.

• Fine Gael is promising to deliver 303,000 homes by 2030. Over half of that, 133,000 homes, will be social, affordable and cost-rental properties.
• Fianna Fáil is committing to build 360,000 homes by 2030. The party says that 122,000 of those builds will be affordable and social homes. 
• The Green Party has said it will deliver 250,000 – 265,000 homes over a five-year term, which includes at least 135,000 social, affordable and cost-rental properties. Additionally, the party will renovate 20,000 vacant properties every year.
• Sinn Féin is promising to build 300,000 new homes over five years, including 125,000 affordable-purchase, social and affordable-rental homes. It plans to increase social housing through new builds and acquisitions of property and drive down the price of housing by building on state-owned land and selling only the property to the buyer.
• The Social Democrats have made it known that a ‘red line issue’ for going into government is that a coalition partner must agree to build 50,000 affordable-purchase homes over five years. The demand was included in its social housing policy last month, when the party pledged to deliver 25,000 affordable-rental homes as well over five years.
• Labour promises to build 250,000 homes over five years, 122,000 of which will be affordable, cost-rental and social homes. The party also plans to ramp up completions each year. Labour is seeking to establish a State construction company and employ builders by encouraging them to return from the commercial construction sector. 
• People Before Profit is promising to deliver 115,000 social homes and 25,000 affordable homes over five years and do so through establishing a state construction company – using funds from the Apple Tax pot to get it up and running. 
• Independent Ireland does not set any housing targets in its general election manifesto but instead it promises to reduce VAT rates on housing materials and create tax reliefs for Irish tradespeople who have moved abroad.
• Aontú intends to build 15,000 social and affordable homes a year if in government.

Subsidies/support schemes

The Help to Buy scheme gives a grant to buyers of up to €30,000 for newly-built homes valued at €500,000 or less.

The First Home Scheme is a shared-equity scheme where the Government and banks purchase a 30% stake in a house. Charges are imposed on homeowners after six years if they have decided not to buy back the stake within that period. These fees continue over 30 years or until the property is sold.

The schemes are the two major state-backed subsidies which are offered to first-time buyers – however, experts have told The Journal that the schemes drive up the price of homes and can price out first-time buyers.

Estate agents have said otherwise, claiming prices are driven by the market and increasing due to a lack of supply – therefore, reaching an ‘affordability cap’ and requiring State intervention.

• Fine Gael intends to retain the help-to-buy scheme and increase the grant to €40,000. The party also plans to broaden the First Home scheme so that first-time buyers purchasing a second-hand home are eligible for the support.
• Fianna Fáil also intends to retain the Help to Buy scheme and extend it to 2030 – but do not have plans to broaden it. For existing homeowners, the party is offering a €100,000 refurbishment grant so those with older properties can retrofit the house.
• Help to Buy also features on The Green Party’s manifesto, with a promise to retain the scheme and expand it to renters who are seeking to buy the property that they are leasing. The party is also promising to install 200,000 solar panels on homes in low-income communities.
• Under Sinn Féin, people will still be able to avail of the €30,000 grant in the Help to Buy in 2025, but it will wind down by €6,000 per year thereafter. The party will also abolish stamp duty – a tax paid on the transfer of residential property ownership – for first-time buyers with houses priced €450,000 or less.
• People Before Profit have voiced opposition to the schemes previously. The party proposes a cap on mortgage interest rates, at 3%, and to extend the mortgage-to-rent scheme – used to keep people out of mortgage arrears. Additionally, People Before Profit promise a 100% redress scheme to homeowners with properties that have defects from the Celtic Tiger or were built using defective concrete blocks.
• The Social Democrats plan to phase out the both schemes, but it is not a red line for them going into a coalition. Labour promises to abolish both funding avenues, entirely, and replace them with a more targeted plan, relative to buyers’ income.
• Independent Ireland promises to increase funding for local infrastructure and social housing, and incentivise owners of vacant properties to develop homes. The party will also declare housing as an emergency so inter-departmental working groups can be established in government.
• Aontú is proposing two separate grants – one for for refurbishing 8,000 vacant homes per year and another for refurbishing above-shop accommodation. It also plans to impose a zero-VAT rate on construction materials over a five-year period to decrease the cost of building homes.

Renters

The most-recent Daft Rent Price Report revealed that the average cost of rent is €1,955 – a 43% increase when compared to a pre-Covid era. 

• Fine Gael intend to launch ring-fenced cost-rental properties for frontline workers and increase the rent tax credit from €1,000 to €1,500. Fianna Fáil plans to double the credit.
• Sinn Féin, Labour, People Before Profit and the Social Democrats plan a three-year rent freeze and promise to reinstate the no-fault eviction ban. Aontú also pledge to enact a no-fault eviction ban.
• People Before Profit has said it will triple the rent tax credit to €3,000.
• Independent Ireland want to remove a clause, that allows landlords to pass on portions of their tax bill to tenants, for all renters paying under €1,000 a month.
• The Green Party has strongly supported the tenant-in-situ scheme, where a local authority purchases a property from a landlord who is exiting the market to keep the resident in the home.