Country/Region: Ireland

Housing Finance Agency of Ireland

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Housing Finance Agency of Ireland

Policies and regulations
Financing
Promotion and production
Ownership and tenure

Main objectives of the project

The Housing Finance Agency (HFA) was established in 1982 and is a public limited company wholly owned by the Irish government.

Date

  • 1982:

Stakeholders

  • Promotor: Housing Finance Agency (HFA)

Location

Continent: Europe
Country/Region: Ireland

Description

Its mandate is to provide loan finance at the lowest interest rates possible to local government and non-profit sector housing associations for social housing provision, to Higher Education Institutions for student housing provision and for mortgage lending to low-income home purchasers. The Agency sources its finance from two European Union public banks – EIB and CEB – and from short-term deposits from local government. At the end of 2020, the outstanding loan book of HFA was EUR 5.18 billion. The HFA is self-financing – a small margin is added onto its cost of funds to cover its administration costs – so it does not receive any government subvention. In recent years, HFA has played a key role in funding the expansion of housing support for low-income households in Ireland. In 2010 it began to offer loan finance to non-profit sector social housing providers which had previously been funded primarily by government grants. This significantly increased the volume of finance available to these housing providers and enabled them to greatly increase their output. Securing long-term fixed-rate finance enabled the HFA to offer fixed-rate loans to non-profit social housing providers. This eliminated interest rate risk, which was a key concern for them.[1] This experience of drawing on HFA loan finance has encouraged some non-profit social housing providers to use private banks and capital markets. HFA has also used these fixed-rate EIB and CEB loan facilities to offer 20-year fixed-rate, low-interest mortgages to low-income Irish home buyers[2]. Long term fixed-interest mortgages are not provided by commercial mortgage lenders in Ireland and this type of loan significantly increases the affordability and predictability of mortgage payments, so it is particularly beneficial for low-income households[3].

Links

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Timberyard Social Housing

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Timberyard Social Housing

Urban Design Environments Quality Liveability

Main objectives of the project

This Dublin project arose from the need to relocate residents affected by road construction. The 47-unit development was designed in consultation with local residents and meets high environmental standards. The concrete structure allows for flexible apartment layouts. The triangular courtyard offers a secure social space with window seats, balconies, and winter gardens. The use of brick and timber reflects the surrounding area's architecture and history as a timberyard.

Date

  • 2009: Construcción

Stakeholders

  • Arquitecto: O’Donnell + Tuomey

Location

Continent: Europe
City: Dublin
Country/Region: Dublin, Ireland

Description

This project in the historic Liberties area of Dublin arose from the need to relocate the residents of the existing pockets of social housing that had been demolished in order to make way for a new road. The client brief, which was set out in consultation with the local and new residents, called for an exemplar social housing development and in response, this 47-unit project provides compact city living adjacent to schools and services. Built to the latest environmental standards including fuel and energy conservation, the concrete structure enabled a greater flexibility with apartment layouts by stepping the internal party walls vertically. 2106 14137 2106 14135 The triangular courtyard provides a secure social space with passive surveillance from the adjacent apartments. This space is animated by window seats at ground level with recessed balconies and projecting winter gardens above. Brick and timber echo the existing housing and industrial buildings, and the former use of the site as a timberyard.

Authors: