Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 June 2022
463. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a couple (details supplied) are eligible to apply to purchase their home under the tenant incremental purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28870/22]
View answerThe Tenant Purchase 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 minimum reckonable income required to be eligible under the scheme is €12,500.
In determining a tenant’s minimum reckonable income, local authorities can include incomes from employment, private pensions, maintenance payments, and certain social welfare payments, including the Invalidity Pension, where the social welfare payment is secondary to employment income. However, certain other social welfare payments, including Community Employment Scheme payments, are not considered when determining an applicant's reckonable income.
The minimum income requirement ensures the scheme is sustainable, and the tenant purchasing the house has the financial means to maintain and insure the property for the duration of the charged period.
Subject to meeting this requirement, monies for the purchase of a house may come from several sources, including savings, inheritance, a mortgage provided by a financial institution, or a local authority house purchase loan.
