Written answers

Monday, 11 September 2017

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Tenant Purchase Scheme Eligibility

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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1966. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason income from the rural social scheme is not included as income in calculating reckonable income under the tenant purchase scheme 2016 in view of the fact that persons in the rural social scheme are allowed remain on the scheme until retirement age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37249/17]

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016.  The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme.  To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support for at least 1 year.

The minimum reckonable income for eligibility under the Scheme is determined by the relevant housing authority in accordance with the detailed provisions of the Ministerial Direction issued under Sections 24(3) and (4) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014.  In the determination of the minimum reckonable income, housing authorities can include income from a number of different sources and classes, such as from employment, private pensions, maintenance payments and certain social welfare payments, including pensions, where the social welfare payment is secondary to employment income.

In order to ensure the sustainability of the scheme, it is essential that an applicant’s income is of a long-term and sustainable nature.  This is necessary to ensure that the tenant purchasing the house is in a financial position, as the owner, to maintain and insure the property for the duration of the charged period, in compliance with the conditions of the order transferring the ownership of, and responsibility for, the house from the local authority to the tenant. Therefore in the determining of reckonable income housing authorities shall disregard income that is once-off, temporary or short-term in nature and that is outside the regular pattern of a person's annual income. 

In line with the commitment given in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, a review of the first 12 months of the Tenant Purchase scheme’s operation has been undertaken. The review has incorporated analysis of comprehensive data received from local authorities regarding the operation of the scheme during 2016 and a wide-ranging public consultation process which saw submissions received from individuals, elected representatives and organisations.

The review is now complete and a full report setting out findings and recommendations has been prepared.  Following consultation with relevant Departments on implementation arrangements, I expect that definitive proposals will be submitted to me very shortly.

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