Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2016
373. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when he will consider amending the relevant clause in the tenant purchase scheme, Part 5, to enable residents of private developments to purchase their own home as in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12840/16]
View answer395. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to review the stipulation in the tenant purchase scheme that a tenant must have a minimum income of €15,000 to be eligible to purchase and that social protection income can only count as a secondary source to get to the €15,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13448/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 373 and 395 together.
The new Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme and applies to all existing local authority houses, other than those classes of houses excluded under legislation. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum.
The minimum reckonable income for eligibility under the Scheme is determined by the relevant housing authority in accordance with the detailed provisions of the Ministerial Direction issued under Sections 24(3) and (4) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. In the determination of the minimum reckonable income, housing authorities can include income from a number of different sources and classes, such as from employment, private pensions, maintenance payments and certain social welfare payments, including pensions, where the social welfare payment is secondary to employment income.
The provisions of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, are designed to enable the development of mixed tenure sustainable communities. Part V units are excluded from the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme to ensure that units delivered under this mechanism will remain available for people in need of social housing support and that the original policy goals of the legislation are not eroded over time. The continued development of mixed tenure communities remains very important in promoting social integration.
The new Scheme is in the very early stages of implementation and my Department is monitoring the operation of the scheme in consultation with housing authorities. In line with the commitment in the new Programme for a Partnership Government to make the scheme more attractive for social housing tenants and to raise new funds for housing development, I intend to undertake a review of the scheme following the first 12 months of operation. I will bring forward any changes to the terms and conditions of the scheme which are considered necessary based on the evidence gathered at that stage.
