Nearly 1,000 people apply for 14 Athlone cost rental homes

In a further indication of the demand for cost effective housing locally, more than 900 people applied for 14 new two-bedroom 'cost rental' apartments at Cornamaddy Court in Athlone.

The housing agency Tuath Housing recently invited applications for the new homes in Cornamaddy Court, with a closing date of Friday last, June 5.

When contacted by the Westmeath Independent, a spokesperson for Tuath Housing indicated there had been huge demand for the apartments, with "over 900" applications received.

This represents at least 65 applications for every one of the cost rental apartments made available by Tuath Housing in this scheme.

With rents capped at €1,200 per month, cost rental housing is open to people who do not qualify for social housing but whose net household income is less than €59,000 per annum.

The homes are due to be allocated through an online lottery system.

"Once advertising for a Cost Rental development has ended, a random lottery is carried out by an independent agency. This process includes a full audit trail to ensure fairness and transparency," said Tuath Housing.

"The lottery generates a randomly ordered list of all eligible applicants. Tuath then contacts applicants starting from the top of the list and continues down until all available homes have been allocated."

The A-rated homes at Cornamaddy Court are expected to become available for letting from early August.

The Cornamaddy neighbourhood has seen steady development over the last decade with new estates being built in quick succession.

The homes offered at Cornamaddy Court are a joint venture, with the properties built by Glenveagh and managed by Tuath Housing.