Publication
Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs)
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) (also called housing associations or voluntary housing associations) are independent, not-for-profit organisations. They provide affordable rented housing for people who cannot afford to pay private sector rents or buy their own homes; or for particular groups, such as older people or homeless people.
AHBs also include housing co-operatives, which are housing organisations controlled by their members/tenants who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions.
Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 enables housing authorities, among other things, to provide assistance to AHBs for the provision of housing.
Since 1 January 2022, the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (also known as ‘AHBRA’) has had responsibility for establishing and maintaining the register of AHBs and for registering organisations as AHBs. All AHBs that were on the Department’s register were automatically deemed to be registered with AHBRA as and from 1 January 2022. To review the AHB Register please visit the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority website .
New organisations wishing to register as AHBs should contact AHBRA directly at: registration@ahbregulator.ie
The ‘Housing for All’ Action Plan Update (November, 2022) stated that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) would complete a strategic review of the AHB sector. The first phase of this strategic review process saw the establishment of the “AHB Strategic Forum” in December 2023, which has been mandated to consider a range of strategic long term issues facing the sector and to set a vision for the sector over the next 10 years. The Forum provides a platform for broad stakeholder engagement to debate sectoral issues and opportunities across four thematic areas - (i) Strategic; (ii) Asset/Tenancy Management; (iii) Delivery and (iv) Financial.
The focus of the AHB Strategic Forum in the first half of 2024 saw extensive sectoral and stakeholder engagement during a series of workshops devoted to each of the above themes.
The next stage of the Strategic Forum will cast the net wider to facilitate broader participation in a consultation process about the future Strategic direction of the sector.
The Department hopes that the collective responses to these questions, provided by the AHB sector and key stakeholders which were unable to attend the workshop phase of the AHB Strategic Forum can inform the development of policy and contribute to a well-functioning Approved Housing Body sector, for the benefit all stakeholders.
Please download and complete the Survey Approved Housing Bodies Strategic Forum Stakeholder Consultation
You are invited to submit your views on all sections but you are welcome to leave any sections blank where you feel that you have no comment to make. Should you wish to expand on any answer, please submit such documentation as an attachment with your return.
Please return completed Survey to AHB@housing.gov.ie by September 10 2024