Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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327. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to allow tenants of approved housing bodies to purchase their home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10144/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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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 one year.

The scheme only provides for the purchase of local authority houses owned by the relevant local authorities and does not extend to houses owned by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). My Department cannot unilaterally make provision for their sale to tenants as the ownership of these properties remains with the AHB.

If an AHB is in receipt of funding under a scheme, they must comply with the terms and conditions of that scheme. Under such schemes, the AHB is required to make the property available for social renting for the duration of the mortgage or, as the case may be, the availability agreement.

If a property is owned outright by an AHB and it is not subject to public funding, the AHB may choose to sell that property, once this is allowed for in their constitution. It should be noted that AHBs must have as their primary objects the relief of housing needs, and the provision and management of housing included within their memorandum of association or registered rules, as the case may be.