Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
697. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the financial supports that are available for a couple who are not first-time buyers but require financial assistance to purchase a home and are being refused credit by banks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40453/21]
View answerIn the main, policy and supports to provide access to home ownership and affordable purchase is generally targeted at those who do not already own a home.
The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan enables creditworthy eligible buyers to access sustainable mortgage lending to purchase new or second-hand properties in a suitable price range. There are no set minimum income limits under this scheme, however, applicants do need to have sufficient borrowing and repayment capacity and must be capable of repaying the mortgage. Although the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is primarily targeted at first-time buyers, exceptions are available for second-time buyers that have been legally separated or divorced. Further information on the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is available at http://rebuildingirelandhomeloan.ie/.
The Affordable Housing Act 2021 was enacted by the President on 21 July 2021. This Act is the first ever stand-alone affordable housing legislation, establishing a basis for four new affordable housing measures. These measures will deliver on the Programme for Government commitment to put affordability at the heart of the housing system and prioritise the increased supply of affordable homes through (1) delivering affordable homes on local authority lands, (2) the introduction of a new form of tenure in Cost Rental, (3) a new affordable purchase shared equity scheme and (4) expanding Part V planning requirements to increase the 10% contribution requirement to 20% and to apply it to cost rental as well as social and affordable housing
Section 10 of the Act sets out the eligibility criteria for the affordable purchase scheme. Section 10(5) provides eligibility to individuals that previously purchased a home but subsequently underwent personal insolvency or bankruptcy (subject to the indivisual(s) meeting the other eligibility criteria). Sections 10(3) and 10(4) provides eligibility in circumstances where individuals that previously purchased or built a home together with a spouse, civil partner or a person with whom he or she was in an intimate and committed relationship, but that relationship has subsequently ended.
In addition to the above measures, the Housing for All strategy, which is currently being finalised, will provide for a suite of measures to improve the affordability of the overall housing market.
