Social Housing

Supplementary to its statutory remit, NAMA recognised that residential properties owned by its debtors and receivers offered an opportunity to contribute to social housing in Ireland. NAMA established a dedicated social housing team to identify suitable housing and facilitate its delivery through engagement with the Department of Housing and the Housing Agency.

Over NAMA’s lifetime, more than 7,600 units have been identified as potentially suitable for social housing and offered to local authorities. Many of these units were not required or deemed unsuitable by local authorities at the time, or subsequently became unavailable as NAMA deleveraged its secured portfolio.

This process has been very successful with 2,957 homes delivered to date, exceeding NAMA’s target of 2,000 homes by 50% and providing housing for 9,000 people. Homes have been delivered via sale or lease to local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, the Land Development Agency, or via direct sale to NARPS.

Social housing opportunities were identified from homes constructed by NAMA debtors and receivers. Certain properties identified were incomplete and required remediation works. NAMA often advanced funding for these works subject to commercial viability. Overall, NAMA’s total expenditure on social housing has been in the region of €350m. This includes costs incurred by NARPS in purchasing residential units and capital expenditure incurred by NAMA for the completion of housing units and estates.

NAMA social housing delivery figures exclude units delivered by way of Part V of the Planning and Development Act on NAMA-secured development sites.

NARPS

National Asset Residential Property Services (NARPS) was established in 2012 to expedite the delivery of social housing from NAMA’s secured portfolio. 1,366 homes have been delivered through NARPS representing 46% of all NAMA social housing delivery.

NARPS was designed to be a model of good practice and has acted as a precedent for further leasing initiatives which have since been rolled out across the sector. In recognition of its important contribution to the delivery of social housing, the Minister for Finance directed that the NARPS portfolio is to remain in State ownership. This portfolio transferred to the Land Development Agency in July 2025.

Social housing flow chart

The chart above illustrates that there were 7,653 residential properties identified by NAMA for potential social housing use. 2,957 were delivered.

NARPS chart

The infographic shows how the NARPS model operated:

  • NARPS purchases suitable housing units from NAMA debtors and receivers at full market value
  • In some cases, NAMA funds necessary remediation and completion works prior to the purchase of units by NARPS
  • NAMA directly leases the properties to Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) or local authorities (LAs) for social housing use.
  • The lease terms are for a 20 year period