Under the terms of the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme 2016, the purchase price for a house (as per section 10 of the Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015 ) shall be the greater of: (a) The relevant market value of the house, or (b) 50 percent of the estimated cost to the housing authority of providing, on the same site as the house being purchased and in accordance with prevailing national building standards and design policies for local authority housing, a house of the same class that the house being purchased was designed for, and such estimated cost shall include, among other matters, the cost of site acquisition, legal and other professional fees.
In relation to valuations, the valuation is undertaken by a professional valuer either employed by or engaged by the housing authority. In the event of a valuation being disputed by a prospective tenant purchaser, it is open to the purchaser, at their own expense, to engage a valuer approved by the housing authority to prepare a second valuation. In such circumstances, the housing authority would generally engage with the purchaser and consider the two valuations with a view to agreeing a final purchase price.
In line with a commitment in Rebuilding Ireland, the first year of operation of the Tenant Purchase Scheme is currently under review. In that context, the arrangements in relation to valuations will be considered further. The review is targeted for completion by end Q1 2017.
