Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 January 2022
116. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when it is intended to publish the regulations for the revised tenant purchase scheme; if there will be further changes to this scheme from the changes announced on 4 January 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3275/22]
View answerThe Tenant Purchase Scheme was reviewed in line with Programme for Government and Housing for All commitments in 2021, with amendments to these criteria subsequently approved by Government. The new regulations were published on 11 January 2022 and will come into effect from 1st February 2022.
The scheme provides for the purchase by eligible tenants, or joint tenants, of local authority homes available for sale under the scheme. Applicants must meet certain criteria, including minimum reckonable income and minimum time in receipt of social housing supports, to be eligible.
The recent changes reduce the minimum reckonable income required from €15,000 to €12,500. This means older tenants, whose only income might be the contributory or non-contributory State pension, will be eligible to buy their homes if they have the financial means to do so. The time an applicant is required to be in receipt of social housing supports to be eligible under the scheme has also been revised, from one to ten years.
Further changes to the scheme are currently being examined as part of the work on the broader social housing reform agenda and I expect to make a decision on these in the near future.
