Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 October 2023
313. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of applications received under the tenant purchase scheme per local authority area; the number refused; and the number approved following the change in criteria for the scheme, in tabular form. [44222/23]
View answerThe Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme provides for the purchase by eligible tenants, or joint tenants, of local authority homes available for sale under the scheme. The scheme was amended in February 2022 to include a reduction in the minimum reckonable income required to be eligible under the scheme from €15,000 to €12,500. This ensured older tenants, whose only income might be the contributory or non-contributory State pension, could qualify to buy their homes if they had the financial means to do so. The time tenants had to be in receipt of social housing supports to qualify under the scheme was also revised, increasing from one to ten years.
My Department does not require local authorities to report on the number of the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme applications received, approved, or refused. This information may be sought from the local authorities directly.
Statistical information on the number of houses sold under the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme from 2015 until the end of 2022 may be found on my Department’s website, and can be located at the following link: gov.ie - Other local authority housing scheme statistics (www.gov.ie)
