The purchases were made as part of the second phase of CHI's Mungret project. Last year CHI spent over €11 million purchasing 46 houses in the same development. In total they have now bought 71 homes in Mungret for €17 million.
The purchased houses are all two and three bedroom homes and are a mix of semi-detached, terraced and apartments.
David Ryan, CHI regional housing services manager, says CHI are nearing the end of the application process.
"Approved applicants from Limerick City and County Council’s housing waiting list were sent to CHI, who carry out assessments and interview the families," Ryan said. "CHI work closely with city and county councils to provide homes to people on local housing lists. We do this by developing strong relationships with builders and developers. Key to our model is the involvement and engagement of our members at all levels."
Rents for the homes are calculated according to Limerick City and County Council’s Differential Rent Scheme, which is income based.
Ryan explained how each household in the development will be a member of the Ralahine Housing Co-operative.
"Members have a say in the running of the co-operative, the management of estates, hosting community events and can propose to elect representatives on to the national board of CHI," he said. "Co-operatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others. The estate will be managed by staff at our local office in Limerick. CHI take the approach of it being member led, and we hope the new members will take the lead in setting up a committee onsite to liaise with our housing officer around the upkeep of the estate and community activities."
