Part 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 was commenced in June 2018 to provide a new statutory basis for affordable dwelling purchase arrangements. Initial regulations in relation to schemes of priorities were made subsequently and further regulations will be put in place over the coming months regarding eligibility and other matters. When the operational procedures for the programme are finalised, and before dwellings are made available for purchase under the scheme, a programme of communication will be undertaken by my Department and local authorities.
Under the provisions of section 84(2)(c), a household will normally be ineligible for an affordable dwelling purchase arrangement where the household or any household member has previously purchased or built a dwelling for his or her occupation, or for any other purpose, in the State.
However, section 84(5) provides that where a household requires to relocate to a different dwelling or different administrative area or both, section 84(2)(c) will not render a household ineligible where the household had previously purchased an affordable dwelling under Part 5 or under the previous legislative provisions in relation to affordable purchase arrangements (now repealed).
The question of whether a household "requires" to relocate would be a matter for the housing authority to determine under section 84(5), but I will consider whether further detail/guidance in this regard should be given in Regulations to be made in the coming months, or in guidelines to be issued by my Department and before homes are made available under the scheme.