Acquisition of new turnkey properties for social housing to be phased out from next year

There will be a move away from Turnkey Acquisitions for the delivery of social housing, the Government have confirmed.

Turnkey Acquisitions refer to a situation where local authorities and approved housing bodies agree to buy social housing units after they have been built, or after construction has started. This means they have no role in deciding what types of homes are provided.

The changes will come into place at the end of 2027, with the final date for the submission of Turnkey Acquisition funding being December 31 2027. This is to give local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies time to recalibrate.

The Government says that this will result in future social housing being delivered through the expansion of local authority and approved housing bodies’ own build programmes.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, said: “This measure was a commitment in both our Programme for Government and our new Housing Action Plan, ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030’. It will increase the emphasis on planned, needs-led social housing delivery and cease the reliance on the acquisition of homes that would otherwise have been available to the private market. In essence, it will ensure many more homes are available in social and private sectors.

“I am determined to ensure that social housing is delivered through programmes where the State can influence the design, specification and mix of homes from the outset, ensuring that developments are aligned with identified social housing needs and local authority housing delivery objectives. This measure gives us the greater control needed to do just that.

“Additionally, the cessation of Turnkey Acquisitions – creating a greater focus on direct delivery by local authorities, AHBs and the LDA – will lead to a more sustainable and predictable pipeline of social housing provision over the longer term.”