Patrick Nulty (Dublin West, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when a new tenant purchase scheme for local authority tenants will be introduced; when the Programme for Government commitment to extend access to tenant purchase to tenants of approved housing bodies that is voluntary housing associations will be introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1523/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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My Department is currently preparing the General Scheme of a Housing Bill that will include, among other things, proposals for a new scheme for the sale of local authority houses to tenants. The scheme will be based on the incremental purchase model, involving discounts for tenants linked to household income and a discount-related charge on the property that will dwindle away over a period unless the house is resold or the purchaser fails to comply with conditions of the sale. The precise terms of the new scheme will be set out in regulations as soon as practicable after the Housing Bill is enacted.

The sale of approved body housing to tenants is one of the issues relating to the long-term financing of the sector that my Department will examine in the context of developing an enabling regulatory framework to support the expanded role for the sector envisaged in the 2011 Housing Policy Statement.