Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2020
636. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the tenant purchase scheme review; his plans to amend the scheme to allow tenants in homes classed as apartments and duplexes to avail of tenant purchase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33439/20]
View answerThe 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. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support for at least one year.
A review of the first 12 months of the Scheme’s operation has been undertaken. In addition, the Programme for Government commits to maintaining the right of social housing tenants to purchase their own home with some changes to eligibility. The review and the commitments in the Programme for Government are being examined as part of the work on the broader social housing reform agenda. I expect to be in a position to publish the review and finalise changes to the Scheme once the work on these reform measures is complete.
Provision has been made to allow tenants of apartments to avail of tenant purchase. Part 4 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 introduced the scheme for Tenant Purchase of local authority apartments, which came into operation on 1 January 2012. The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated regulations provided for the commencement of the scheme and the terms and conditions of the scheme.
