Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 November 2023
291. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authority home loan applications, approvals and drawdowns in each year from 2019 to date in 2023, in tabular form. [50652/23]
View answerThe Local Authority Home Loan (LAHL) is a Government-backed mortgage for creditworthy applicants who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants. The loan can be used both for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build.
The Local Authority Home Loan replaced the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, which was introduced in February 2018. The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan closed to new applications when the Local Authority Home Loan was introduced in January 2022.
The Housing Agency provides a central support service that assesses applications for the Local Authority Home Loan and its predecessor the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, on behalf of local authorities and makes recommendations to the authorities to approve or refuse applications.The final decision on loan approval is a matter for the relevant local authority and its Credit Committee on a case-by-case basis. Decisions on all housing loan applications must be made in accordance with the Regulations establishing the scheme and the credit policy that underpins the scheme, in order to ensure prudence and consistency in approaches in the best interests of both borrowers and the lending local authorities.
My Department regularly publishes information on the number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns for both the Local Authority Home Loan. Local authority approval means that an official letter of offer has been sent to a borrower. My Department does not collect statistics on the number of applications submitted to Local Authorities. Information on drawdowns, approvals, average drawdowns, and average approvals for the Local Authority Home Loan up to Q2 2023 is available on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/42d2f-local-authority-loan-activity/#local-authority-loans-approvedpaid
