Vol. 527 No. 1
112 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the reason he insists that local authorities have a freehold interest in housing which they acquire before they can sell it on under the tenant purchase scheme; and if his attention has been drawn to the frustration this is causing for prospective tenant purchasers. [27902/00]
Since the introduction of the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rent) (No. 2) Act, 1978, all sales of local authority houses, under the tenant purchase scheme, are on the basis of fee simple rather than on a leasehold arrangement which previously applied. It is a matter for the relevant local authority, which is responsible for the administration of the tenant purchase scheme, to acquire the ground rent speedily to enable the sale in fee simple to proceed. However, I understand that in a minority of cases, legal difficulties can delay finalisation of the process, particularly where title proves hard to establish. Having said that, I would point out that pending finalisation of the sale, the purchase price quoted by the authority to the tenant is frozen.
113 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that local authorities do not take maintenance payments into account in deciding whether an applicant can afford shared ownership, unless the maintenance is under an attachment of earnings; and if he will direct a change in this practice in view of the fact that maintenance is a legally agreed payment and attachment of earnings certificates normally arise only where a person is not meeting their obligations. [27903/00]
The determination of eligibility for the shared ownership scheme is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. It is, therefore, a matter for the authority to decide, in the light of the circumstances pertaining to each individual case, whether or not to assess non employment related income, such as maintenance payments, in determining an applicant's ability to meet loan and rent repayments. I believe local authorities should exercise their discretion and accept maintenance payments as income in circumstances where the authority considers it appropriate to do so. I would be reluctant to remove what is, I believe, appropriate local discretion from the local authorities by directing that maintenance payments should, in every case, be taken into account as income.
