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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 21 Nov 2001

Vol. 544 No. 4

Written Answers. - Shared Ownership Scheme.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

209 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the maximum loan, maximum rent percentage and the maximum house purchase value permissible under shared ownership; and his plans to modify these. [29111/01]

Under the terms of the scheme, the maximum loan which may be advanced by a local authority, subject to repayments not exceeding 35% of a household's net income, is £100,000 and the maximum value of the dwelling which may be rented is 60%.

The operation of the shared ownership scheme is, in the first instance, a matter for individual housing authorities. Otherwise, the determination of the amount of loan which may be advanced, the maximum house price and the relevant proportions between purchased and rented elements are matters for the local authority, having regard to the circumstances of each individual applicant. There is no proposal to amend the terms of the scheme at this stage, but they will be kept under continuing review.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

210 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the interest rate and mortgage protection insurance charges which are used for affordable housing or shared ownership schemes for both fixed and variable interest loans; and the way in which these charges are determined. [29112/01]

The current variable interest rate to local authority borrowers in respect of the affordable housing and shared ownership schemes is 4.3%. The current fixed rate available for loans under the affordable housing scheme is 5.3% for a period of five years. There is no fixed rate available for shared ownership loans. The interest rate on local authority housing loans is determined by the Housing Finance Agency by reference to mortgage rates prevailing in the financial market. These rates compare favourably with the equivalent rates charged by commercial lending agencies.

The local authorities' mortgage protection plan has applied, subject to the terms of the plan, to all house purchase loans approved on or after 1 July 1986. The terms of the cover offered by the plan are re-negotiated every two years by the mortgage protection insurance committee on which the County and City Managers' Association, my Department and the Housing Finance Agency are represented. The current rate applicable to all loans in respect of mortgage protection is 0.67%.

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