Vol. 559 No. 6
240 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the way in which a person in need of housing can be excluded from affordable housing on income grounds if he or she is unable to secure a mortgage from a building society or financial institution for a housing unit in the private market by reason of their income. [26978/02]
An eligible person for affordable housing in the context of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, is a person in need of accommodation whose income is not adequate to meet the payments on a mortgage for the purchase of a dwelling unit to meet his or her accommodation needs, because the payments calculated over the course of a year would exceed 35% of that person's net income. In determining the eligibility of a person, the local authority must take into account the annual net income – i.e. gross annual income net of income tax and PRSI – of the applicant and half the annual net income of any other person who might reasonably be expected to reside with the eligible person and contribute to the mortgage payments.
Persons whose repayments on a house purchase mortgage would amount to 35% or less of net income would generally qualify for a mortgage from a commercial lending agency.
