On 7 March 2023, the Government agreed to develop legislation to give tenants the opportunity to buy their home including the development of a legislative based “first right of refusal”. Detailed and complex work has been ongoing in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General to progress the implementation of the Government decision.
I updated Government on the progress on developing proposals for the necessary legislation on 11 July and Government approval of the necessary General Scheme of a Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill will be sought in the coming weeks, with a view to priority legal drafting and publication .
It is important to stress that tenants are already availing of opportunities to purchase or indeed to remain as long-term tenants in their home under the current measures which are in place such as the Local Authority Home Loan, the expanded First Home Scheme for Tenants, the local authority’s Tenant in Situ Scheme, and the Housing Agency’s Cost Rental Tenant in Situ Scheme.
Landlords are already choosing to sell homes directly to tenants and to local authorities and the Housing Agency – there is no impediment to this - and there have been successful applications made under each of the above named schemes.
As a formal right of first refusal does not currently exist in law at present, the particular detailed information sought does not exist.
