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Tenant Purchase Scheme Administration

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 March 2014

Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Questions (699)

Robert Troy

Question:

699. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when a new scheme, which will be replacing the tenant purchase scheme be announced; if this scheme will take into consideration tenants whose sole income is social welfare and take into consideration the length time they are a tenant; if a discount will be afforded to those whose property value presently might be lower than the differential rate between mortgage and rent paid. [13610/14]

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Written answers

The Government, on 17 December 2013, approved priority drafting of a Housing (scellaneous Provisions) Bill that will, among other things, underpin a new tenant purchase scheme for existing local authority houses along incremental purchase lines.  I expect that the Bill will be enacted this year, following which I will prescribe in regulations the commencement date and the detailed terms of the scheme.

Tenants are not precluded from tenant purchase by virtue of being social welfare recipients and there is no intention to change this practice in the future. However, tenants seeking to fund the purchase through loan finance from the housing authority must meet the criteria that apply to such loans, which are set out in the Housing (Local Authority Loans) Regulations 2012 and associated credit policy. This policy provides that loans are not available to social welfare recipients, except where these constitute long-term Department of Social Protection payments in conjunction with a primary income of a permanent and salaried nature. The final decision on whether or not to approve a loan in a particular case lies with the relevant housing authority, which must satisfy itself as to the borrower’s capacity to service the loan over its full term.

The discounts available to tenants under the incremental purchase model are related to income rather than length of tenancy, thus enabling low-income households to move into home ownership earlier than would otherwise be the case. The discount-related charge that the housing authority applies to the dwelling under incremental purchase is structured to make it attractive for households to put down long-term roots in their localities, thereby fostering more sustainable and integrated communities.

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