Promoting the Benefits of social Housing - The Irish Council for ...

ISSUE No. 68 Summer 2007 ISSN No. 0790-1321HousingNewsletter of the Irish Council For Social HousingPromotingthe Benefitsof SocialHousingNational Social HousingConference andExhibition arrives inthe South EastTowards 2016– First AnniversaryNew Ministers in placeIrish Councilfor Social HousingIrish Council for Social Housing 50 Merrion Square East, Dublin 2 Tel: 01 661 8334 Fax: 01 661 0320 Email: info@icsh.ie Web: www.icsh.ie

Editorial:Could private sector slowdown provide an opportunity for social housing?Indications are that private residential construction is slowing down based on the number of starts and planning permissionsgranted. Therefore, this surplus capacity should now be transferred to boost the delivery of social housing in the new NationalDevelopment Plan (NDP) and in turn meet the targets agreed by the Social Partners in the national agreement Towards 2016.In addition to delivering new social rented homes, transferring surplus capacity will ensure better value for money in the statefunding of social housing as well as providing a ‘softer’ landing in the residential construction sector. While private housingoutput hit record levels in the last NDP, social housing output always struggled to creep above 10%. Providing social housingthrough housing associations and local authorities has both the obvious social benefits in addressing housing need but also asignificant economic benefit for the Irish economy.Service Indicators in Local Authorities 2006In January 2004, a system of formal performancemeasurement across 42 indicators was implementedthroughout the local authority system. This meant thatperformance results for each local authority could becompiled and published in a report to the Minister for theEnvironment, Heritage and Local Government in 2005. Theresults were verified by an independent assessment panel.This is a first in Irish public service.The third report was published in July 2007 by the LocalGovernment Management Services Board (LGMSB) andcontains the results for each indicator for 2006, the reportalso compares results at a national level for 2004 to 2006. Asummary of the main findings is presented below.Total number of dwellings of local authority stock in managementYearNo of Dwellings2004 111,4572005 113,6882006 115,386Current Status of Local Authority Social Housing StockThe national total of all local authorities has increased by3.5% in two years. Across all local authorities 5,265 (4.6%)of dwellings are empty compared with 3.9% of all dwellingsin 2004. Some of these empty dwellings are those subjectto major refurbishment schemes which will increase thequality of the housing stock. The figures also show a smallimprovement in the average time taken to re-let dwellingsfrom 4 weeks in 2004 to 3.8 weeks in 2006. There is also anincrease of 3% in the average number of repairs completedin 2006 relative to 2004. In 2006 the average percentage ofrepairs completed was 87.8% of the number of valid repairrequests received.Average time (days) to informapplicants of: 2004 2006Shared Ownership 14 8.7Housing Loan 15 8Local Authority Housing 28 29.5Dealing with Applications for Social HousingThe average times taken to inform applicants has marginallyimproved since 2004, with the exception of the time takento inform applicants of local authority housing, as can beseen from the table below.It is clear from these results that the assessment andverification processes vary greatly, moreso in the averagetime to inform applicants of local authority housing. InFingal County Council, the average is reported as 270 dayswith the explanation that there was a significant increasein the housing list in 2006. The average time is nowreported as down now to 28 days. Galway County Counciland Kerry County Council reported on average 104.9 and121.3 days respectively.Performance Management for Housing AssociationsEnsuring that proper standards continue to be achievedis also a key objective for voluntary housing associations.The ICSH undertook a two phased pilot project known asHAPM – Housing Association Performance Managementto assist in developing a framework for measuringperformance in housing management for the sector.The main areas of the framework that member housingassociations agreed to measure included the followinghousing management functions:• Rent Control• Allocations / Lettings• Vacancies / Voids• Repairs & Maintenance• Landlord / Tenant Relations• Customer ServiceThe ICSH are currently examining the roll out of a refinedHAPM framework comprising of 10 Key PerformanceIndicators for the sector. These KPIs are based on thoseelements of housing management that are of interestto both tenants and other stakeholders and that providethe most appropriate information on how well thehousing service is managed. It is anticipated that, in time,performance results for the voluntary sector can alsobe reported on an ongoing basis. The objective at somestage would be to gain some comparison on housingmanagement outcomes between local authorities andhousing associations.ICSH Social Housing

NEWSClockwise: Caisleian Nua Housing Association, Co Tipperary / Cluid Housing Association, Foxfrod, Co Mayo / Ballyhaunis SocialHousing Scheme, Co Mayo“Central to the deliveryof housing projects inthe voluntary housingsector is the acquisitionand assembly ofbuilding land. ”The difficulty with this figure it that it is not clear how thelevel of site provision reported in the Annual Bulletin translatesinto output. For example, if the sites sold in 2006 representedhousing for 131 households the impact would be limitedhowever if an average of 40 units were built on the sites thenover 5,000 units would be built which is more significant.Central to the delivery of housing projects in the voluntaryhousing sector is the acquisition and assembly of buildingland. On the 14th June 2006, social partners signed theagreement ‘Towards 2016’where there was a commitmentof additional land / sites sufficient to support 3,000dwellings to be made available from 2007-2009. An updateon the progress of ‘Towards 2016’ can be found on page six.end of May 2007 this had increased to 2,538 tenants.The majority of ICSH members have reported a seamlesstransfer of tenants with the new system operating well.Low cost sitesThe figures from the statistics bulletin show that therewere a total of 131 sites made available under the lowcost site scheme in 2006. These sites can be sold for socialhousing delivered by housing associations as well as tohouseholds who would otherwise benefit from socialhousing measures. The 2006 figure is disappointing as isrepresents an increase of just seven sites on the figure for2006 (124 sites). This continues the trend whereby housingassociations are no longer able to rely on local authorityland banks for sites.GrantstownVoluntaryHousingAssociation,Co WexfordICSH Social Housing

NEWSWork In ProgressTowards 2016 – First AnniversaryICSH Social HousingToward 2016, the Social Partnership Agreement sets outGovernment commitments for the economic and socialdevelopment of Ireland for the next ten years. It wasformally signed by all the social partners on 14th June 2006.It is now over one year on and the Irish Council for SocialHousing as a member of the Community and VoluntaryPillar has been actively pursuing the implementation of thecommitments of key importance to the voluntary housingsector. This article provides a snapshot of what has beenachieved in the first year of Towards 2016, the current ‘workin progress’ and what has yet to be addressed.While it is accepted that Towards2016 is a framework agreementwith a life span of ten years forimplementation, aspects of theagreement, particularly in relationto housing output targets for 2007-2009, require swift, high impactactions from the Governmentto enable the voluntary andco-operative sector to resolvecurrent blockages.Increasing the Supply of Social HousingIn terms of output, the agreement commits to 73,000additional social housing units by 2012, and in the shorterterm, a commitment of 27,000 units over the 3 year periodfrom 2007-2009. For voluntary housing associations specificallythis translates into an additional 1,000 units over the sameperiod, bringing the annual output to around 2,000 units bythe sector. In addition, the Governmenthas also committed to providing land /sites to housing associations up to theequivalent of 3,000 dwellings in thesame time period.Achieving this higher output andincreased availability of land will onlybe bolstered by full implementationof the accompanying commitmentsto streamline the capital fundingsystem and active land managementstrategies for local authorities. Theseare key milestones upon which thesuccess of the delivery of the rest of theagreement relies upon.“The difficultiesand administrativedelays whichhave significantlyinhibited thelevel of outputhave been welldocumented bythe ICSH.”In 2006, local authority outputfell from 4,209 units in 2005to 3,968 units in 2006 andsimilarly, voluntary and co-operative sector output fell from1350 in 2005 to 1,240 in 2006. The need for state land tobe made available to the voluntary and co-operative sectoris a key aspect to increase output. The fall in the provisionof state land made available through local authoritiesand other bodies emphasises the need for immediateavailability of additional land / sites.Progress to date – Access to LandTo date the DoEHLG has made some progress in this area.A circular was sent to all local authorities requesting themto identify land which could be made available to thesector. The target of providing building sites for housingassociations to deliver 3,000 units was a modest one interms of the land zoned and available to local authorities.It has been often overlooked that housing associationshave sourced a significant amount of their own land inrecent years and without that output figures would beeven less. As local authorities are charged as being keyenablers for the voluntary and co-operative sector theacquisition and assembly of building land is a perquisite forensuring expansion in housing association output. If thereare continued delays in this area, housing associations willnot be able to respond effectively and the 2007 and 2008annual targets will not be reached. This will inevitably causea knock-on effect on the longer term commitments andtargets in the agreement for the sector.Streamlining the Capital FundingSchemesThe difficulties and administrativedelays which have significantlyinhibited the level of output have beenwell documented by the ICSH. Thecommitment to streamline funding andapproval systems was welcomed andis a key starting point to allow deliveryof the targets in the NDP and theagreement.Progress on this is ongoing andthe DoEHLG Voluntary and CooperativeHousing Working Grouphave reviewed the assessment and

NEWSapproval procedures with the objective of streamliningthe assessment appraisal and implementation stages ofprojects. The terms of the capital funding schemes are insome cases over 20 years old and were more applicableto when output was a much lower level.A circular was issued in December 2006 to localauthorities on the implications of the ‘rationalisation’ ofthe process and currently the necessary arrangementsare being put in place for the introduction of newprocedures. The ICSH will brief members on these newprocedures ahead of the roll out.Housing and CareAn essential element to the success of the agreement,particularly with the introduction of the Lifecycle approachwill be the integration of housing with other key policyareas. Interagency co-operation needs to happen at both apolicy level and service delivery level to impact on housingassociations and their tenants. With the commitment todevelop interagency co-operation where there is a caredimension, progress can be made towards breaking downthe traditional barriers between different disciplines andachieving a more co-ordinated approach between housingand care.Some progress in this area is that the Department ofHealth and Children are now members of the HousingForum and a cross departmental team on shelteredhousing has recently been established by the DoEHLG. Theslow progress to set up this cross departmental team is notencouraging and the ICSH hope that the members of thiscommittee will work well together as it is through thesemechanisms that cross-disciplinary working i.e. housingand health can translate to the local level. The voluntaryand co-operative housing sector unlike other tenures relyheavily on integration between housing and health indelivering services to tenants.Other Key milestones• New statement of housing policy Delivering Homes,Sustaining Communities launched in February 2007• Programme of investment in social housing under theNDP E17 billion• National group established to develop a housingstrategy for people with a disabilityRespond! Housing Association, Blackpool, Co Cork• A green paper on the Housing Needs Assessment hasbeen produced by the Department of Environment,Heritage and Local Government• The National Homeless Consultative Committee hasbeen established• A number of submissions have been receivedregarding minimum standards regulations for theprivate rented sector and it is intended that updatedregulations will be drafted by end of September 2007• Discussion on streamlining the Capital FundingSchemes is continuingIt is clear that a number of initiatives remain to becompleted or are significant continuing projects that willneed to be driven on an ongoing basis if they are going tobe achieved in the long term.A key element in the relevance of the social partnershipagreement will be its measurability and for the voluntaryhousing sector in particular part of the focus will be onincreasing output over the lifetime of the agreement. Thekey to delivering on Towards 2016 and to fulfilling thetargets in the NDP is to get off to a good start and establishthe mechanisms for delivery early. Due to the factorsoutlined earlier, housing association output has fallen forthree consecutive years and is currently recovering lostground. Failing to provide the tools for housing associationsto deliver housing units and housing supports sooner ratherthan later will result in making up this lost ground for theduration of the agreement."In terms of output, the agreement commits to 73,000 additional socialhousing units by 2012, and in the shorter term, a commitment of 27,000units over the 3 year period from 2007-2009."ICSH Social Housing

NEWSICSH Annual Regional MeetingsICSH Social HousingIn June and early July this year, the membership of theIrish Council for Social Housing came together in sevenregional meetings hosted throughout the country.A total of 250 delegates all ICSH membersattended the meetings.They were held to brief members on recentchanges and issues that directly affect them andto give members the opportunity to raise localissues. Members also have the opportunity tomeet with other housing associations in theirareas and share information specific to theirregion. Elections for ICSH Board Members fromeach region were also held.The recent round up of meetings looked ata wide range of topics including streamliningcurrent procedures in the capital funding schemes, theimpact of the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) andPart V, governance for housing associations, housing andcare issues including the defined revenue funding schemefor sheltered housing schemes and a pilot CCTV project forhousing projects for older people as well as an update onthe ICSH Group Insurance Scheme.Dublin & East Regional MeetingOver the course of the regional meetings, ICSH memberswere given the opportunity to discuss different aspects ofthe proposed streamlined approval process and in particularwhat specific implications the many new changes had forhousing associations.Martina Rooney, Development Officer, in her reviewof the sector on a regional basis also went throughthe capital funding available to housing associations.Increases in the capital funding limits were discussedand the ICSH highlighted the continuing commitmentfrom the Department of Environment, Heritage and LocalGovernment (DoEHLG) in developing the voluntary and cooperativesector. A number of members highlighted theneed for adjustments in the funding limits to be applied on“Efforts ofHousingAssociationsare beingundermined bypolicies of otherGovernmentDepartments”.a more consistent basis to reflect increasing building costs.Some associations felt that the increase did not do enoughto alleviate the problem of high cost of land in urban areas.Donal McManus, ICSH Executive Director, tookmembers through a step by step guide to theproposed new process for streamlining theapproval and application process for housingprojects. This includes proposals to give moredevolved sanctioning powers to local authoritiesfor projects up a certain value to appraise theproject and confirm the funding.Raised for discussion was the plan to facilitate100% CAS funding if housing associationshoused 100% of people from the localauthority housing waiting list. Some memberswould welcome the change, particularly for schemes forhomeless people and people with disabilities. Membershighlighted the difficulties small housing associations havein raising the 5% contribution, others felt that safeguardsneeded to be built in whereby housing associations couldstill opt for the 5% contribution.Also highlighted were some ongoing issues relatingto housing and care, in particular the need for greaterclarity in the relationship between the HSE and the LocalAuthorities in terms of the DoEHLG funded mortgages.Some members are experiencing serious difficulties insecuring rent allowance for their tenants and this, in turn,is threatening the viability of the scheme as there is norental income to the housing association.Caren Gallagher, Projects Officer, spoke on the governancerequirements of housing associations discussing howhousing associations straddle three areas of compliancewith the Companies Registration Office under their legalregistration, the Revenue Commissioners for charitablestatus and the Department of the Environment, Heritageand Local Government in relation to Approved Status. Itwas felt by some Members that the huge level of workundertaken by voluntary board members across the countrySouth Regional Meeting

NEWSto meet all the requirements was sometimes not fullyappreciated. One member emphasised that Board Membersare going out of their way to run these schemes across thecountry on a voluntary basis and are meeting the needs ofthe communities, particularly in rural areas with an agingpopulation without being acknowledged and supported tothe full at a national level.Mid West Regional MeetingMidlands Regional MeetingLinked to this were concerns about a ‘greying of the board’which is a trend experienced by voluntary organisations as awhole. Members discussed the difficulties in recruiting newboard members and running the association effectively withlimited time and resources. The benefits of collaborationamong housing associations were discussed.Border Regional MeetingWest Regional MeetingSouth East Regional MeetingWest Regional Meeting:Pat O’Connor, Roscara Housing Association, Dr JerryCowley, Mulranny Day Centre Housing, John-Joe Higginsand Seamus Durkin, Peter Triest Housing Association.The ICSH Board of Management was duly elected from theregions by the membersElected ICSH Board of Management fromSeptember AGM 2007BORDER 1 KAREN SMYTHDrogheda Homeless Aid HousingAssociationMIDLANDS 2 CHARLES McDONALDSue Ryder FoundationSOUTH-EAST 3 MATTIE McGRATHCaisleán Nua VHA, Co. TipperarySOUTH 4 SR. CELESTINE FARRISSEYCharleville Sheltered Housing, Co. CorkDUBLIN/EAST 5 SHARON COSGROVESonas Housing Association6 JUSTIN O’BRIENCircle Voluntary Housing Association7 SEAN O’CONNORBIH IrelandMID-WEST 8 FRANK GUNTERInagh Housing Assoc. Co. ClareWEST 9 DR. JERRY COWLEYLARGE ORGANISATIONS(over 300 units)Mulranny Day Centre Housing, Co.Mayo10 DAVID BURKEFocus Ireland11 GENE CLAYTONThe Iveagh Trust12 JOHN HANNIGANRespond Housing Association13 BRIAN O’GORMANClúid Housing AssociationICSH Social Housing

ICSH NEWSICSH Biennial NationalSocial Housing Conference25th – 27th September 2007Social Housing: A lifestyle ChoiceThe ICSH Biennial Social Housing Conference,Social Housing - A Lifestyle Choice takesplace from Tuesday 25th to Thursday27th September in WhitesHotel, Wexford Town.The theme for this year’sconference encapsulatesthe Lifecycle approachhighlighting the rolesocial housing plays insupporting people throughouttheir life. The theme of the conference is to promote socialhousing as a viable housing option and to explore thepotential of the sector to expand the range of housingoptions available and to integrate housing and other keypolicies such as health in order to provide homes for life.Duncan Stewart"The theme for this year’s conferenceencapsulates the Lifecycle approachhighlighting the role socialhousing plays in supporting peoplethroughout their life."Participants at the Conference will include officials andelected Members from local authorities, officials fromthe HSE, the private sector, Government Departments, aswell as staff and Management Board Members of housingassociations and co-operatives.There will be a range of speakers and contributors fromthe social housing sector and Government Departments aswell as other external guests such as David McWilliams andDuncan Stewart.Parallel Sessions scheduled at the Conference include:Session 1: New Migrants and Housing ManagementSession 2: Elected Members Role in Delivery of Social andAffordable HousingSession 3: Innovations in relation to Homelessness includingthe Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS)Session 4: Supported housing for Older People – ToolsRequired to Achieve a Continuum of CareICSH Social Housing10Mary DavisDavid McWilliamsConference BookingA booking form is contained in the ICSHconference brochure which can be obtainedfrom the website www.icsh.ie or bycontacting Catherine McGillycuddy on01 6618334 or catherine@icsh.ieICSH Annual General MeetingThe ICSH Annual General Meeting ICSH will this year be held in Wexford in conjunction with the National Social HousingConference.The AGM has been arranged for Tuesday, 25th September from 5.30 to 6.30pm in the conference venuewhich is Whites Hotel Wexford. Each currently Affiliated member organisation is entitled to be represented at the AnnualGeneral Meeting by two delegates. Other committee and staff members are also welcome to attend.

Launch of updated ICSH WebsiteThe ICSH are pleased to announce the launch of the updated website www.icsh.ie.The site was completely re-developed from a purely informational to a functionalwebsite. The new website is more user-friendly and easier to navigate containingmuch more information for ICSH members to access and download. The websiteimproves the way in which the ICSH can interact with its members and the public ingeneral – it also provides an opportunity to showcase the sector by featuring photosof housing association schemes from across the country on the home page. As wellas new sections on News and Events, there is also a services section, a recruitmentsection and areas where ICSH publications and policy positions are available.ICSH NEWSPublicationsNew DoEHLG Social Housing Design GuidelinesThe Department of the Environment, Heritageand Local Government has launched its newlyrevised housing design guidelines – QualityHousing for Sustainable Communities. This newdocument is a revision of the Social HousingDesign Guidelines issued in 1999 and had beenanticipated for some time. It also updates thesite selection guidelines. Quality Housing forSustainable Communities is intended for usein all housing projects and a key aim of thesebest practice guidelines is to ensure that allnew housing schemes are socially and environmentallysustainable and promote high standards indesign and construction.Housing associations should ensure thatthese new guidelines are used in conjunctionwith the Memorandum on the Capital FundingSchemes and their design teams utilise theguidelines in project development. Copiesof the guidelines are available to downloadfrom www.environ.ie or can be obtained bycontacting the Department of the Environment,Heritage and Local Government.Photo GalleryClúid Housing Association officially opened its new housingscheme in Foxford, Co Mayo this week. The Cathaoirleach,Cllr Seamus Weir officiated at the ceremony and was joinedby Cllr Jim Maloney and Dara Colleary TD.Killeshandra Social Housing receiving the Local AuthorityMembers Award for Best Affordable Housing Developmentearlier this year.ICSH Social Housing11

newsHousing OverseasICSH Social Housing12EnglandBuilding capacity could be limitedbecause of OlympicsA recent reportby constructionconsultants inthe UK has foundthat Olympics in 2012 will inflateconstruction prices by more than 6%per year on the run up to the Olympics.It is estimated that price increaseswill be in the region of 6.3-6.5%. Theconcern from a housing perspective isthat this could jeopardise the targetsfor new homes that the Governmenthas set. It is felt that if the work onthe Olympics starts to slip behindthen there could be a push to haveconstruction completed on all theconstruction projects that are part ofthe Olympics. Reducing the supplyof contractors working on providingaffordable homes is currently oneof the concerns and procurementinitiatives are being developed tocounteract this.CanadaIncome related rents in social housingsector OttawaIn the City of Ottawa there are currentlyalmost 23,000 social housing unitsmanaged by 56 independent non-profithousing associations which operatethroughout the City of Ottawa. Rentsin the social housing sector are setaccording to the income of the tenant.Tenants do not pay more than 30% oftheir income towards rent. Currentlythere over 1 million people who live inthe Ottawa Metropolitan area.AustriaVienna demonstrates benefit oflarge social housing stockVienna which has proud history ofsocial housing provision has nowone of the largest social housingstocks in the EU. In Austria thereare about 200 non-profit housingassociations and in Vienna nonprofithousing associations managearound 136,000 homes. Dueto the scale of social housing,waiting times for social housingcan be around 6 months for veryhigh demand areas but as littleas a month or less for reletting inmany areas. Subsidized housing inVienna costs in the region of €5-6per metre per month. In order toachieve balanced neighbourhoods inVienna new housing areas have tocomprise of apartments of differentcosts as well as a mix of tenuresof rental and homeownership. TheCity of Vienna as part of the e-Government strategy will enabletenants to carry out all their housingmanagement functions on line.Some of the most innovative socialhousing projects from new build,refurbishment and redevelopmentof brown field sites exist in Vienna.BulgariaEnergy consumption problem inBulgariaIn the new EU Member State over 95%of all households are homeownerswhich is higher than its near neighbourRomania and higher also than the oldEU 15 where Ireland and Spain had thehighest levels of owner occupation.A significant number of householdshave become homeowners followingthe recent privatization of the socialhousing sector for low-income andvulnerable groups. Dwellings inBulgaria also comprise of a highpercentage of concrete panel dwellingsincluding those build in the highdemand areas such as Sofia betweenthe 1960’s and 1990’s. Problems withpoor insulation on external walls andwindows are some of the legacy ofthis problem.Vienna, AustriaIrish Council for Social Housing50 Merrion Square East, Dublin 2Tel: 01 661 8334Fax: 01 661 0320Email: info@icsh.ieWeb: www.icsh.ie