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Minister O’Brien Approves Regulatory Standards for Approved Housing Bodies Sector

The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) is the national representative federation for non-profit housing associations in Ireland (also known as Approved Housing Bodies or AHBs). The ICSH represents over 270 member organisations that, in addition to providing over 43,000 homes, also deliver a range of complimentary services to tenants that include families, older people, formerly homeless households and disabled people.

We welcome Minister Darragh O’Brien TD’s approval of the standards for Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), which were submitted by the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA). The new standards are critical to determining an equitable, proportionate and transparent framework within which the governance, management and performance of approved housing bodies (AHBs) will be assessed. The ICSH appreciates AHBRA’s sustained and effective engagement with the AHB sector, which has helped shape the standards.

The AHB sector has matured and developed under the Voluntary Regulation Framework and during this time, our member organisations have been at the forefront of responding to the housing crisis under Rebuilding Ireland and its successor, Housing for All. We welcome the draft standards as another milestone on the road to statutory regulation of the approved housing bodies.

The standards are available to download from the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority.