asked the Minister for Local Government if his attention has been drawn to a report (details supplied) concerning the price of a house in Lucan, County Dublin; and, if so, if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Dublin House Price.
5.
I have seen the Press report referred to. In so far as my Department are concerned, I am aware that certificates of reasonable value were refused in respect of three different prices proposed for houses on the site concerned and that, following the third refusal, the builders informed the Department that they were withdrawing their application for a certificate.
As I am in no way involved in the dispute between the intending purchaser and the builder, which would result in legislation, I do not propose to make any further statement on the matter.
Can the Minister state how it could result in legislation?
If a contract entered into between the intending purchaser and the builder is broken, naturally the only way it could be dealt with is by legislation. The word is "litigation". I am sorry if I said "legislation".
Is the Minister aware that, due to the efforts of the individual himself, this matter has now been resolved satisfactorily? Is the Minister not concerned that the problem that arose in this case might arise again, and has been known to have arisen in several cases already? Is the Minister not concerned that there may be need for tightening up of legislation in order to protect the rights of purchasers in such cases? I shall try to put what I have to say into one question: is the Minister aware also that, when a deposit is paid, there is no formal contract entered into, that often three months may elapse before the contract is signed? Would the Minister not agree that, in such circumstances, the person who is selling the house should be obliged, by law, to inform the purchaser if an application for a certificate of reasonable value has been made before or at the time he is paying the deposit and if there are applications made subsequently——
This is becoming a speech rather than a supplementary question. Deputies' supplementaries must be brief and must be relevant.
I was trying to put it into one question. I shall ask three or four if the Chair will allow me.
The Chair is in control of these matters.
It is very difficult to sort out a simple problem here. Anyway, the Minister knows what I am getting at.
It is true that a number of builders appear to have agreed to provide houses at a price and have asked subsequently for a higher price, after a deposit has been paid and, in some cases, asked for more than one change in the price. The Department of Local Government, on numerous occasions issued a notice. I think the last time it appeared in The Irish Times and the other morning papers was on the 3rd May, 1974. I have a copy of The Irish Times here in which there was a fairly sizeable notice: Housing Grants and House Prices: Notice to House Purchasers. Paragraph 4 of that notice says:
New house purchasers are strongly urged also in their own interest to see the certificate of reasonable value before they enter into commitment to purchase the house.
And under paragraph 3 of that notice the builder must display a fairly large notice. It must measure at least four feet by four feet stating what is the certificate of reasonable value. This is a matter entirely between the builder and the purchaser. I would suggest to prospective purchasers that they should not attempt to purchase a house under any circumstances without taking good legal advice.
I should like to ask the Minister a further question. I think he has missed the whole point of my first one, that may have been because I was cut off in the middle of it. Would the Minister not consider that provision should be made to oblige the person selling the house to inform the purchaser when applications for a certificate of reasonable value are being made? A situation arose here in which a person paid a deposit and an application could have been made before that date for a certificate. Yet that purchaser was not informed and the seller is not obliged under present law to inform him of this. Subsequent applications could be made, following the handing over of the deposit, again without the purchaser being informed that an application had been made. Would the Minister not agree that the seller should be obliged to inform the purchaser that certificates are being applied for?
That would not solve the problem at all because the builder could just say to somebody who had, in fact, paid a deposit that he was applying for a further certificate or had applied for a further certificate. I think the proper thing to do is for the buyer to ensure that his rights are protected. He can do this by seeking good legal advice and having a good legal contract. But many people are prepared to hand over large sums to contractors, when they want a house, without any protection for themselves. My advice to them is to ensure that they know what they are buying and know the price at which they are buying it. If they do that, there will not be any repetition of what Deputy Molloy is referring to here.
May I ask one further question?
It must be very brief.
Would the Minister agree that, under the law as it stands at the moment, there is no obligation on the person who is selling the house to inform the purchaser that an application has been made for a certificate of reasonable value at the time he is paying the deposit and that, even though he thinks he is buying a £7,000 house, he may, in fact, be buying a £7,600 house?
No, I would not agree with that because I have read out paragraphs 3 and 4 to Deputy Molloy. Paragraph 1 of that same notice says:
The Minister for Local Government wishes to remind purchasers of new houses that under the scheme for approval of new house prices, any builder or developer constructing a house in a scheme of four or more houses, being provided for sale must obtain a certificate of reasonable value before grants under the Housing Acts, will be allocated for the houses.
The position is that anybody who sells a house, as a grant-aided house, must have a certificate of reasonable value. If he tells the person who is buying the house that he has a certificate, he must produce a four feet by four feet copy of it. I think that should be sufficient.
I think the Minister misses the whole point.
I do not propose to get involved between a builder and a buyer.