Jimmy Devins (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Lynch for raising this matter, which gives me the opportunity on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to outline the plans to update housing legislation as part of a programme to reform the social housing sector.

On foot of proposals prepared by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and approved by the Government, the Attorney General's Office is currently drafting a Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to give effect to policy initiatives set out in the policy statement, Delivering Homes, Sustainable Communities, which was published last February. This statement builds on recent progress in providing social and affordable housing by setting out the fundamentals of the Government's vision for housing policy in the coming years.

The Bill will be designed to support the creation of a flexible and graduated system of housing supports for those in need of housing, improve customer choice in order to meet changing requirements over a person's lifetime and augment the powers of housing authorities while at the same time making clearer their responsibilities as social landlords and regulators of social housing generally. Thus, measures in the Bill will include a more developed legislative basis for the rental accommodation scheme, a revised tenant purchase scheme including the sale of local authority apartments to their tenants and revised powers for local authorities to combat anti-social behaviour.

As regards the sale of local authority apartments to tenants, previous efforts in this area were thwarted by the difficulties associated with the management of flat complexes, insurance, the cost of maintenance and the transfer of legal title. Taking account of proposals put forward by local authorities, arrangements are being devised to address these and other issues unique to local authority apartment sales. The establishment of fair, equitable and proportionate arrangements are needed to give tenant purchasers and the local authority a voice in the management of the apartment complex. The potential role of a management company representative of all apartment owners, including the local authority, in managing and maintaining the common areas and services in the complex must be considered. The need must also be considered for tenant purchasers to contribute through service charges to the ongoing maintenance of common areas and services. Arrangements must be made for sharing the costs of insurance covering the entire complex. Finally, a reserve fund will have to be created to pay for major improvement works required in the future.

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