Vol. 573 No. 3
667 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if he will consider shortening the 20 year period during which a clawback is taken under affordable housing, at least in cases of households in which expanding family size requires a move to larger accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25069/03]
Clawback provisions provide that if a house purchased under the affordable housing schemes at a discount is resold before the expiration of 20 years from the date of the purchase, the person selling the property shall pay the housing authority a percentage of the proceeds of the sale. This percentage is equal to the percentage discount allowed by the local authority on the original sale of the house where the house is resold within the first ten years. The amount payable is reduced by 10% in respect of each complete year after the tenth year during which the person who purchased the property has been in occupation as his or her normal place of residence.
The provision for a clawback is necessary to ensure that there is no short-term profiteering on the resale of a house provided by a local authority at discount from market value and it is not proposed to alter this.
