asked the Minister for the Environment the steps he intends to take to ensure that local authority tenant purchasers do not have to continue to wait for two years from the date of application to the conclusion of the sale of houses to them under departmental regulations (details supplied).
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Local Authority Tenant Purchasers.
10.
Delays in the completion of the sale of local authority dwellings are mainly attributable to the requirement that the housing authority must, prior to sale, carry out such works as are necessary to put the dwelling into good structural condition. The time scale within which such pre-sale repairs are carried out is determined largely by the levels of staffing and expenditure that the local authority concerned can provide for the purpose and is a matter within the responsibility of that authority.
I am at all times open to suggestions for the improvement of the legislative framework within which sales of local authority dwellings are carried out and the suggestions made by the Housing Committee of Dublin Corporation that tenants should be allowed to purchase their houses at the usual prices less the cost of repairs is being considered in this context.
Does the Minister consider it reasonable that a tenant who applies to purchase his local authority house may not proceed with the actual purchase until these repairs are carried out? The unreasonable part is that it has often taken the local authorities two years or more to carry out repairs which means that the tenant has to continue paying rent during that period when he could be paying part of the purchase price.
As a member of a local authority I know that what the Deputy says is true. Sometimes the period is much longer than a few years but, basically, the delay is caused by the fact that most tenants require the house to be put back in good order and repair before they occupy it and this takes time. I am in agreement with the suggestion made by the Housing Committee of Dublin Corporation that some tenants might be prepared to do some of their own repairs and that this should be taken into account when fixing the price of the house. This would have the effect of speeding up the sale and transfer of houses.
I presume the Minister is aware that the scheme he mentioned at the end of his reply has been in operation since about 1972 but it has not solved the problem. Some tenants have to wait as long as five years before they can begin making repayments.
It has apparently been in operation in Dublin and I should like to see figures on how it has worked.