CARBERY HOUSING ASSOCIATION - COISTE TITHE CHAIBRE
CHA is a non-profit company with Charitable Status and has Approved Housing Body status with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. It was set up in 2001, on the initiative of local residents in Baltimore, a fishing village in West Cork where holiday home development was pushing house prices out of the reach of local people.
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Our Mission Statement:
“Develop and provide housing and associated amenities, for a range of households that were excluded from the housing market, on the basis of partnership with local authorities and community organisations, and aiming at a high level of energy efficiency and sustainability.”
WHAT WE DO
Leasing empty properties
In 2009 CHA became part of the Government’s Private Sector Leasing Programme and in 2012 secured leases for 2 properties on long-term leases from private owners, and rented them to families nominated by the local authority from their housing list, at means-tested "council-equivalent" rents. These leases are now coming to an end.
Community Mortgages to Rent
In 2018 CHA became an Approved Housing Body (AHB) for the Government's Mortgages to Rents Initiative, where owner-occupiers who are unable to repay their mortgages can opt for mortgages being transferred to an AHB, on the understanding that they will remain in their homes as permanent tenants of the Association. CHA has purchased 7 properties and is currently negotiating the purchase of further 32 properties in Cork City and County under this programme. For further detailed information on the Mortgages to Rent Initiative, please see the following dedicated web site set up by the Housing Agency and the DHPLG, www.mortgagetorent.ie.
Funding Sources
Purchase of properties by CHA under the Mortgages to Rent Programme is funded primarily by loans from the AIB Bank and the Housing Finance Agency (HFA), topped up by a standing loan from the local Council. Rents for residents are set at the same level as Council rents for the local authority regions.
Management and Maintenance
As owners and landlords of the properties, CHA enters into permanent tenancy agreements with the residents of these homes, setting rents at Council equivalent levels. We also survey and carry out initial essential repairs, and ongoing management and maintenance, on the basis of affordable rents received from residents. CHA encourages tenants to become Members of the Association and participate in its Executive Committee.