James Lawless
Question:689. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will address the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40534/22]
View answerTuesday, 26 July 2022
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Written answers
As detailed in the Housing for All strategy, a number of measures are being introduced to support affordability constrained buyers purchase a home, as well as increasing the supply of newly built homes (with an ambitious target of 300,000 new homes up to 2031).
Specifically in relation to affordable homes for those with incomes too high to qualify for social housing, the Housing for All strategy commits to delivering 36,000 Affordable Purchase homes and 18,000 Cost Rental homes by 2030.
Under pathway 1 of this strategy, “Pathways to Home Ownership and Increasing Affordability”, two new Affordable Purchase schemes have been established (the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme and the First Home shared equity scheme), as well as a new Cost Rental tenancy and an improved Local Authority Home Loan scheme.
While most affordable housing measures are primarily targeted at first-time buyers, the Housing for All strategy explicitly provides for the Fresh Start principle. The Fresh Start principle extends the supports available to applicants who are divorced, legally separated, or where the relationship has ended and where an individual/ household retains no beneficial interest in a home.
Applicants looking to avail of affordable housing supports must also meet additional criteria as set out in the scheme-specific eligibility criteria, such as income thresholds and an ability to afford rent/mortgage repayments. Full details of the recently launched First Home Scheme can be found on the following website: www.firsthomescheme.ie/.
An improved Local Authority Home Loan was also announced as part of Housing For All, as a successor to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan Scheme. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for people on modest or low incomes who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. The loan can be used both for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build. It is available for first-time buyers and Fresh Start applicants. The Local Authority Home Loan can also be used for the purchase of homes through the local authority led affordable purchase scheme.
Further details can be found at localauthorityhomeloan.ie/
For those with incomes too low to be eligible for affordable housing supports, social housing supports are available. In order to qualify for social housing support the household must be deemed (i) eligible for and (ii) in need of support before being placed on a housing waiting list.
There are three main criteria for eligibility for social housing support which are; Income, Previous Rent Arrears and Availability of Alternative Accommodation and an applicant must meet them all to be deemed in need of social housing support. Where a household is deemed to meet the eligibility criteria, only then is its housing need assessed under the criteria in Regulation 23 of the 2011 Regulations, having regard to its current accommodation.
If a household meets the eligibility and need criteria, it qualifies for the suite of social housing supports, including HAP, and is placed on the housing list to be considered for the allocation of suitable tenancies in accordance with the authority’s allocation scheme.