Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
381. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Question No. 388 of 27 June 2023, the details of the agreement reached with the Banking Federation of Ireland regarding the imposition of a second charge on properties in respect of the vacant homes grant; his plans to ensure that banks are compliant with the terms of the agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33799/23]
View answerIn July 2022, the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant was launched to support bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use.
From 1 May 2023, a grant of up to a maximum of €50,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent, including the conversion of a property which has not been used as residential heretofore, subject to appropriate planning permission being in place.
Where the refurbishment costs are expected to exceed the standard grant of up to €50,000, a maximum top-up grant amount of up to €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed by the applicant to be derelict or where the property is already on the local authority’s Derelict Sites Register, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €70,000.
As part of the conditions associated with the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, there is a requirement that the applicant(s) will live in the qualifying property or rent it for a period of at least five years from the date of payment of the Grant. If at any time they sell the property, it ceases to be their principal private residence or if the property is no longer available to rent within ten years, they must reimburse the local authority an element of the full value of the Grant, as follows:
• Up to 5 Years – 100% of the monetary amount of the Grant
• Over 5 Years and less than or equal to 10 years – 75% of the monetary amount of the Grant
• Over 10 Years – No Clawback
On completion of works and prior to the issuing of the Grant, an agreement must be concluded between the local authority and the applicant. This contains the clawback agreement, including a charge on the property, which shall be binding on the applicant upon drawdown of the grant. The charge secures the local authority’s interest in the property.
In cases where an applicant has a mortgage on the property for which the grant has been applied for, this will be a second charge on the property. Where the applicant has a mortgage, it will always be the first or priority charge on the property.
Due to issues in respect of banks providing consent to a second charge relating to the grant, for properties with mortgages, my Department has been engaging with Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) on behalf of its members since February of this year. This engagement has been ongoing and resulted in an agreement being reached with the main lending banks (AIB and subsidiaries EBS and Haven, Bank of Ireland, PTSB and Finance Ireland) to providing consent to a second charge on properties with mortgages, in respect of the grant. This agreement is being communicated by these banks across across their branch network and by my Department across local authorities. My Department will continue to engage regularly with BPFI to ensure that the main lending banks are compliant with the terms of the agreement.
