Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 January 2022
556. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the regulations governing the affordable rental and purchase schemes will be published; and if he will provide a summary of such regulations published to date. [1920/22]
View answerThe Affordable Housing Act 2021 sets out the policy framework for how the Affordable Purchase and Cost Rental sectors operate in Ireland.
In relation to affordable purchase, Housing for All confirms the introduction of two new affordable purchase schemes. The first will see the delivery of affordable homes by local authorities. The second will see the introduction of a 'First Home' affordable purchase shared equity scheme for homes in private developments. Both of these schemes are primarily focused on supporting first-time buyers purchasing newly-built homes. In terms of eligibility, they will be targeted at households constrained by the maximum mortgage and deposit available to them.
Via the provision of equity support, these schemes will bridge the gap between the market value and the household’s mortgage capacity. The equity support can subsequently be redeemed at any time at the homeowner’s discretion, or remain outstanding until the home is sold or passed on. Regulations under this Act covering the Local Authority Affordable Purchase scheme are currently being finalised and will be published in the near future.
In relation to Cost Rental, to date I have made three sets of regulations that expand on the policy framework for this new sector as set out in Part 3 of the Affordable Housing 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 23 December 2021, I made two further sets of regulations concerning Cost Rental, the Affordable Housing Act 2021 (Cost Rental Letting and Eligibility) Regulations 2021 and the Affordable Housing Act 2021 (Cost Rental Rent Setting) Regulations 2021, which both came into effect on 1 January 2022.
The Cost Rental Letting and Eligibility Regulations prescribe how landlords of cost rental dwellings should advertise vacancies in such properties and how interested parties can express an interest in leasing these homes. The Regulations also set out the main eligibility condition for leasing a cost rental dwelling, which is that a household’s annual income, less income tax, PRSI, USC and superannuation contributions, must not be greater than €53,000. In cases where the number of applicants exceed the number of available homes, an independently-verifiable lottery will be utilised to select applicants. Landlords should ensure that each property is suitably sized to meet a household’s needs based on the number of occupants and that the tenants selected in the lottery meet the income eligibility criteria.
The Cost Rental Rent Setting Regulations prescribe additional detail and relevant formulae in order to set out how rent reviews under Cost Rental work in practice. Rents can be reviewed annually in line with the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), with formulae set out for how reviews should be undertaken in three specific circumstances: the first rent in any tenancy, the first review of this rent and all subsequent reviews of this rent. All rents calculated are maximum rents, meaning landlords are free to charge the tenant less than this should they so wish.
