Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to replace the local authority tenant purchase scheme with a new scheme from 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39382/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Arrangements for the winding down of the 1995 Tenant Purchase Scheme were communicated to local authorities on 6 June 2012 in Housing Circular 23/2012 - Termination of the 1995 Tenant Purchase scheme. Under the arrangements local authorities may accept applications to purchase under this scheme up until 31 December 2012.

Separate provisions are in place under Part 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009 providing for Incremental Purchase in respect of newly-built houses reserved by housing authorities for the purpose. Regulations to implement the Incremental Purchase Scheme for new houses were made in June 2010. This incremental purchase scheme is available to all housing authorities.

It is intended to introduce legislation to underpin a new scheme for the sale of existing local authority houses to tenants on incremental purchase principles. The new scheme will be a discount scheme based on household income that enables the State to share in the profits from resale during the 20 to 30 year period for which the house is subject to an incremental purchase charge. The proposed scheme will mean that tenants will have the option of buying the house they currently occupy under the incremental purchase model. It is envisaged that this scheme will be in place from 1 July 2013, subject to the necessary legislation being enacted .