Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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492. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the details of the grants that are currently available to a first-time buyer who purchases a house for major refurbishment, renovation and retrofitting works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63520/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Housing for All published in September 2021 provides a new housing plan for Ireland to 2030 with the overall objective that every citizen in the State should have access to good quality homes through a steady supply of housing in the right locations, with economic, social and environmental sustainability built into the system. This strategy provides for a broad suite of measures including for first-time buyers. 

In particular, in the context of addressing vacancy and and efficient use of existing stock, the strategy provides for the Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund which will be delivered by local authorities for the provision of serviced sites for housing, to attract people to build their own homes and to support the refurbishment of vacant properties, enabling people to live in small towns and villages, in a sustainable way. 

In addition, Housing for All provides for the launching of  a programme of Compulsory Purchase Orders to bring vacant units to the market for sale, as well as activating unused State owned properties for this purpose.  Housing for All also recognises the potential to utilise relevant heritage building stock for residential purposes, and it is also anticipated funding will be made available under the new round of European Regional Development Fund to tackle vacancy and dereliction in towns.

Separately, my colleague Eamonn Ryan, T.D., Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment recently published the National Retrofit Plan, as part of the Climate Action Plan, which sets out ambitious plan for the retrofitting  of a significant number homes by the end of 2030. The SEAI grant schemes continue to be a central element of the Government’s strategy to encourage homeowners to retrofit their homes and a new National Retrofit Scheme is planned to be launched this year.

Housing for All also commits to ensuring that vacant homes officers, in each local authority, are full-time officers to support the work of a Vacant Homes Office. My Department will be communicating with local authorities, subsequent to the forthcoming launch of the town centre first policy, with a particular focus on tackling vacancy and dereliction to support the regeneration of town centres including to ensure that vacant homes officers are full-time officers. This important resource, at the local level, will act as the single point of contact to deal with enquiries on all of the type of grants available from for the refurbishment of properties.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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493. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount spent by each local authority on the mortgage-to-rent scheme since its introduction in 2015; the number of properties those payments relate to by local authority in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63543/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme was introduced for local authority borrowers initially as a pilot in 2013, and has been in place nationally since 2014. Under the scheme, a local authority can acquire ownership of properties with unsustainable local authority mortgages, thus enabling the household to remain in their home as social housing tenants. From its inception in 2013 to end 2020, the Local Authority Mortgage to Rent scheme has benefited a total of 532 households. 

Payments made to Local Authorities from 2013 – 2020 in relation to the Mortgage to Rent scheme, along with the number of properties these payments relate to, are available on the Department's website via the following link. Information relating to 2021 payments will be made available shortly. 

www.gov.ie/en/collection/42d2f-local-authority-loan-activity/#local-authority-mortgage-to-rent-scheme >refer to the section “Local Authority Mortgage to Rent scheme”.

The following local authority costs are funded by the Department. Local authorities must use funding received under the Local Authority Mortgage to Rent scheme to re-pay the corresponding loan with the Housing Finance Agency. 

- The Property Ownership Transfer Price (Open Market Value of the property minus the cost of essential repairs, as agreed by the borrower and the local authority)

- Vouched essential repair costs (repairs that are required to ensure that the property meets the minimum standards for rented accommodation)

- Up to 1.5% of the Open Market Value in respect of vouched local authority legal and valuation costs

The local authority can also draw down an amount to the maximum of €1,230 (€1,000 plus 23% VAT) towards the borrower's vouched costs, which include a contribution to their legal and debt advice and, where appropriate, valuation costs.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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494. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the amount spent by each approved housing body on the mortgage-to-rent scheme since its introduction in 2015; the number of properties those payments relate to by approved housing body in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63544/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Mortgage to Rent (MTR) scheme introduced in 2012 is targeted at supporting households in mortgage arrears who have had their mortgage position deemed unsustainable by their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP); agree to the voluntary surrender of their home and are deemed eligible for social housing support. The property in question must also meet certain eligibility criteria. The concept of the scheme is that a household with an unsustainable mortgage goes from being a homeowner to being a social housing tenant. The borrower surrenders their property to their lender who sells it to a MTR provider which can be either an Approved Housing Body (AHB) or since 2018 a private company, Home for Life.  The AHB or local authority (in the case where the property is sold to a private company) becomes the landlord and the borrower remains in the property as a tenant paying a differential rent to the landlord based on his or her income.

To the end of September 2021, 1497 households with unsustainable private mortgages have completed the MTR scheme since its introduction nationally in 2013. 951 households had their case completed by an AHB. The Housing Agency publishes, on a quarterly basis, detailed statistical information on the operation of the MTR scheme including a purchaser status report which shows a breakdown of the number of active, completed, ineligible and terminated cases per purchaser, including AHBs. This information is available on the Housing Agency's website at the following link: www.housingagency.ie/housing-information/mortgage-rent-statistics 

The Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) funding is capital support provided to AHBs by local authorities to facilitate the funding of construction, acquisition or refurbishment of new social housing units, including units acquired through the Mortgage to Rent scheme. My Department can provide CALF funding of up to 40% in the case of the Mortgage to Rent scheme for eligible projects, with the housing units provided to local authorities for social housing use under long-term lease arrangements known as Payment and Availability Agreements. A nominal interest rate of 2% fixed per annum is charged by the local authority on the initial capital amount. Repayments on either the capital or interest are not required during the term of the loan (between 10 and 30 years), although where an AHB chooses to, repayments can be made during the term. At the end of the term, the outstanding capital amount plus the interest accrued, is owed and repayable to the local authority. The local authority issues the CALF monies to the AHB and the local authority, in turn, recoups same from the Department. The remainder of the capital cost is sourced by the AHB through other borrowings to which the local authorities are not party.  All proposals for CALF are submitted to my Department by AHBs for review, to ensure that each project complies with the terms of the CALF and that there are sufficient funds available.

My Department does not hold information on the loan agreements under CALF, as the loan agreement, is between the local authority and the relevant AHB.  Accordingly, information on the number and value of CALF loans, including the balance owing, is held by the relevant local authorities. The value and term of each loan varies by project.

My Department also supports AHBs on MTR projects by providing CALF funding for eligible start-up costs of up to 1.5% of the total capital cost or since March 2018, up to €3,300 (ex. VAT), whichever is lesser. Up to the 30th November 2021, these costs were paid directly from my Department to the AHB. For cases approved from the 1st December 2021, AHBs will submit these claims to the local authority, who will then seek recoupment from my Department for the vouched expenditure.

The table below shows CALF capital expenditure by my Department for the AHB Mortgage to Rent scheme. It is important to note that owing to the nature of the CALF, expenditure relating to properties may span a number of payment periods. 

AHB – MTR - CALF Funding

The Programme for Government and Housing for All includes a commitment to strengthen the Mortgage to Rent Scheme and ensure that it is helping those who need it. Building on the significant improvements already made to the scheme since the last review in 2017, my Department is currently working closely with the Housing Agency and key stakeholders to identify any further improvements required to the scheme. A review of the MTR scheme is due to be published shortly.