Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for tabling this Topical Issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The tenant (incremental) purchase scheme was introduced in January 2016 and is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses which are available for sale under the scheme. To be eligible, applicants must meet certain criteria, including minimum annual reckonable income and minimum time in receipt of social housing supports.

Both the programme for Government and Housing for All commit to maintaining the right of social housing tenants to purchase their home, subject to a number of reforms. As such, the scheme was reviewed in 2021 in line with these commitments. On foot of this review, the Government approved a number of amendments which came into effect on 1 February 2022 by way of the Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) (Amendment) Regulations 2021. One of the amendments included changing the time a tenant, including a joint tenant, must be in receipt of social housing supports in order to qualify for the scheme. This was increased from one year to ten years and now both tenants must meet this requirement. This ten-year social housing support requirement includes time spent living in social dwellings provided by local authorities or approved housing bodies, as well as assistance provided through the housing assistance payment and the rental accommodation scheme. These changes were introduced to strike an appropriate balance between increasing the scope for those in receipt of long-term housing support to purchase their local authority home and ensuring the continued sustainability of the scheme by not unduly diminishing local authority housing stock.

Importantly, this amendment seeks to further support the development of socially sustainable communities, which is a fundamental principle of the tenant purchase scheme. The scheme is intended to facilitate social mobility and to strengthen social integration through the creation of mixed tenure communities, which is a key tenet of the Government’s housing policy. Tenants who become the owners of their homes can inspire others to follow along the same path and this positive example strengthens communities. For the tenants themselves, the move to homeownership can be transformative and empowering, reducing dependency and increasing independence. Tenants availing of the scheme are now fully responsible for their own home and can make improvements and add value as they please.

Other amendments introduced include changing the minimum reckonable income required to qualify under the scheme, reducing it from €15,000 to €12,500 per annum, and also including the State contributory or non-contributory pension as reckonable income. This has enabled lower income earners and those whose only income is the State pension to become eligible to purchase their home under the scheme.

Schemes such as these are regularly reviewed to ensure they are effective and sustainable, and offer the best value for tenants as well as for local authorities. To that end, further changes to the scheme are currently being considered as part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s work on the broader social housing reform agenda. This includes considering the impact of the ten-year social housing support requirement for both tenants, as well as revisiting what is considered to be reckonable income under the scheme.

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