Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 866: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will clarify the procedure regarding the sale of a former local authority house having to be approved by the relevant local authority; if he views the practice as being outdated considering that no houses are currently being bought by local authorities and that his Department is currently only leasing properties for tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18672/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Local authority dwellings sold to tenant purchasers under section 90 of the Housing Act 1966 are subject to a special condition that "the dwelling or any part thereof shall not, without the consent of the housing authority, be mortgaged, charged or alienated otherwise than by devise or operation of law." This condition applies for a period after sale prescribed by the Minister, which, in the case of the 1995 tenant purchase scheme, is 20 years. Under section 90(12) of the 1966 Act, a housing authority may refuse to consent to the resale of a tenant purchase dwelling during this period where, in the authority's opinion - (i) the intended purchaser is not a person in need of housing, or (ii) the intended purchaser is or has been engaged in antisocial behaviour or that the intended sale of the dwelling would not be in the interest of good estate management, or (iii) the intended sale would, if completed, leave the seller or any person who might reasonably be expected to reside with him or her without adequate housing.

These measures are necessary to ensure that the interests of the local community and the housing authority are taken into account in the resale of a local authority dwelling within a reasonable period after tenant purchase and I have no proposals to change the law in this area.