Vol. 460 No. 5
45 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for the Environment if he will consider allowing tenants of local authority houses who intend purchasing their dwellings under the existing tenant purchase scheme to purchase their houses under the old system of payment through their rent rather than the existing system of securing a mortgage. [1636/96]
Since 1993, tenants purchasing their houses are required to obtain a mortgage loan to finance the purchase rather than, as previously, pay to the local authority by annuities over a period of years, the purchase price of the house at the specified interest rate.
Tenants have the choice of obtaining a local authority loan or one from a commercial lending agency and can, therefore, avail of the most attractive terms obtainable. Where purchase is by way of the shared ownership option, loans are provided exclusively by local authorities. The payment of the full purchase price of houses at the time of sale provides local authorities with a source of capital to help fund their housing programmes.
I have no proposals, at this stage, to make any change in these arrangements.
