asked the Minister for the Environment the total reductions allowed to a tenant purchasing a local authority house under the new scheme announced by him recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
37.
Written Answers. - Tenant Purchase Scheme.
36.
asked the Minister for the Environment if he will give details of the new tenant purchase scheme for local authority tenants as announced by him at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis; when the scheme will commence; if it will be necessary to amend legislation to implement the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
47.
asked the Minister for the Environment if he will make the terms of the new local authority tenant purchase scheme available to persons already purchasing their homes who will be at a severe disadvantage due to the terms of the new scheme.
112.
asked the Minister for the Environment if local authority tenants who had qualified for the purchasing of their houses under previous tenant purchase schemes, will now qualify for the new tenant purchase arrangement, announced by him recently, where they had not availed of the previous agreement.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 36, 37, 47 and 112 together.
The terms of the 1988 tenant purchase scheme are outlined in an information leaflet, copies of which have been circulated to all Deputies. Copies of the leaflet have also been placed in the Dáil Library.
Tenants of local authority dwellings on 1 January 1988 are eligible to apply under the scheme and applications will be accepted up to 31 December 1988. Any tenant who has applied to purchase his dwelling under a previous scheme may avail of the terms of the 1988 scheme if the dwelling has not yet been transferred to him. The terms of purchase under the latest scheme cannot be made available retrospectively to persons who have completed purchase under an earlier scheme.
Market value will be used as the basis for assessing gross sale price in all cases and authorities will take the structural condition of houses into account in arriving at market value. Procedures under section 13 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 which require that houses being sold to tenants be put into good structural condition will not therefore apply and section 23 of the recently published Housing Bill provides for the repeal of section 13 in respect of this and future tenant purchase schemes.