Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 January 2018
635. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if the first-time buyers scheme is in addition to the existing council home loan or replacing it; if so, the new deposit required; if divorced or separated persons will be considered under the scheme if the family home has been sold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4220/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing a review of the two existing local authority home loan schemes, I am introducing, from 1 February 2018, a new loan offering, known as the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan. The new loan, which replaces the existing House Purchase Loan and the Home Choice Loan, will enable credit worthy first time buyers to access sustainable mortgage lending to purchase new or second-hand properties in a suitable price range. The low rate of fixed interest associated with the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan provides first time buyers with access to mortgage finance that they may not have otherwise been able to afford at a higher interest rate.
The Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan offers a maximum loan to value (LTV) of up to 90% of market value of the property that can be purchased or self-built up to €320,000 in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, and €250,000 in the rest of the country. Accordingly, applicants must have a deposit equivalent to 10% of the market value of the property. The LTV and deposit requirements are in accordance with the Central Bank prudential lending guidelines.
As with the previous local authority loan offerings, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is available to first time buyers only. This is to ensure the effective targeting of limited resources. Applicants who are separated or divorced may be treated as first-time buyers if they meet certain conditions including:
- they are separated or divorced under a court order or by a separation agreement;
- the property being purchased is the first property since leaving the family home;
- they have left the family home and retain no interest in it;
- the other party has remained in the family home.
The option currently available for non-first time buyers is to seek home loan facilities from one of the commercial lending institutions.
Detailed information on the new mortgage is available on the dedicated www.rebuildingirelandhomeloan.ie website, from the information centre at 051 349720, or directly from local authorities.
