Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 September 2021
298. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the regulations detailing the eligibility and terms and conditions for the affordable purchase and affordable cost rental scheme will be published; and the interim eligibility criteria that are currently in place for affordable rental and purchase homes that will come on stream in advance of the publication of the final regulations. [44958/21]
View answerThe Affordable Housing Act 2021 was signed into law by the President on 21 July 2021. On 18 August, I signed the Affordable Housing Act 2021 (Commencement) (Parts 1 and 3) Order 2021, which commenced Parts 1 and 3 of the Act from 19 August. This brought into operation the Cost Rental element of the Act.
On 19 August 2021, I made the Affordable Housing Act 2021 (Cost Rental Designation) Regulations 2021, which came into effect that day. These Regulations govern the process by which the owners of dwellings may obtain the designation of their properties as Cost Rental dwellings.
On 2 September 2021, I signed the Affordable Housing Act 2021 (Commencement of Certain Provisions) Order 2021, which commenced Part 2 (other than subsections (2)(c), (6), and (7) of section 6) and Parts 4, 6, 7, and 8 of the Act from 3 September.
With the relevant elements of the Act relating to the local authority affordable purchase scheme (Part 2) and Cost Rental (Part 3), it is my intention to make further Regulations governing the eligibility and price ceilings that will be applicable to these schemes by November 2021.
The first Cost Rental homes were delivered by the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Clúid at Taylor Hill, Balbriggan, in August 2021, utilising funding from the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) scheme. The eligibility criteria for prospective tenants was agreed with my Department on an administrative basis given the need to occupy these homes as soon as possible. For Taylor Hill, tenants were required to prove that their net household income was below €53,000 per annum, that they were not in receipt of any social housing supports, that their household size matches the size of the property advertised, that they could afford to pay the cost rent for the home, and that their household had only entered one application for a specific cost rental property.
Part 4 of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 provides the basis for the establishment of the 'First Home' (shared equity) scheme, which is to be operated and administered by a newly established special purpose vehicle (SPV). It also provides that the Minister may agree the terms by which the equity support may be provided, covering, inter alia, areas such as purchaser eligibility and financial means, the homes that may be considered eligible under the scheme and the amount of funding that can be provided. Work on the detailed design and operation of the scheme is advancing and the Government's recently published Housing For All Plan confirms the intention to introduce the First Home Scheme in Q1 2022.
