Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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283. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the changes that have been made to SI No. 484 of 2015 - Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) Regulations 2015 to enable pensioners to purchase their local authority homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3095/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Tenant Purchase Scheme was reviewed in line with Programme for Governmentand Housing for Allcommitments in 2021, with amendments to these criteria subsequently approved by Government. The new regulations were published on 11 January 2022 and will come into effect from 1 February 2022.

The scheme provides for the purchase by eligible tenants, or joint tenants, of local authority homes available for sale under the scheme. Applicants must meet certain criteria, including minimum reckonable income and minimum time in receipt of social housing supports, to be eligible.

The recent changes reduce the minimum reckonable income required from €15,000 to €12,500. This means older tenants, whose only income might be the contributory or non-contributory State pension, will be eligible to buy their homes if they have the financial means to do so. The time an applicant is required to be in receipt of social housing supports to be eligible under the scheme has also been revised, from one to ten years.