Written answers

Wednesday, 23 February 2022

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Housing Schemes

Photo of Gerald NashGerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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127. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his Department will publish updated guidance to facilitate a transition period for the changes to the tenant purchase scheme pursuant to SI. No.776 of 2021 Housing (Sale of Local Authority Houses) (Amendment) Regulations 2021; if his Department will facilitate flexibility in respect of tenants who had commenced the application process to purchase their homes prior to 1 February 2022 but have not been in receipt of housing support for the new period of ten years and are now no longer eligible for the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10407/22]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Tenant Purchase 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 Government has recently reduced the minimum reckonable income required under the scheme from €15,000 to €12,500. Similarly, the length of time an applicant must be in receipt of social housing supports to qualify under the scheme has also been revised. This has been increased from one to ten years. These changes came into effect on 1 February 2022.

Applications received by local authorities prior to 1 February 2022 should be assessed with reference to the regulations and requirements in place at the time, with applications received after 1 February 2022 assessed in accordance with the new requirements.

While local authorities have already been formally advised of the key changes, my Department intends to issue revised guidance to local authorities very shortly.

Further changes to the scheme will be considered in the coming months, as part of a broader package of social housing reforms.

Photo of Thomas GouldThomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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128. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the shared equity scheme will be operational.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10417/22]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Affordable Housing Act 2021, which I commenced in August 2021, laid the provisions for the introduction of two new affordable purchase schemes: an affordable purchase scheme delivered via Local Authorities and the Land Development Agency delivering primarily on own lands, and also the national First Home shared equity scheme supporting purchases in the private market.

Part 4 of the Act provides the basis for the establishment of the First Home Scheme. The scheme will support first-time buyers on moderate incomes in purchasing new-build homes by means of an equity stake model, similar to that used in the Local Authority Affordable Purchase scheme. First Homewill be subject to regional price ceilings reflective of the median prices paid by first-time buyers for new-build homes, so it is an intervention to assist buyers in the lower area of the home price distribution. The scheme will be targeted at those who have insufficient funds to purchase one of these homes using the mortgage and deposit available to them, and will use equity support to ‘bridge the gap’.

Budget 2022 allocated €44 million to my Department for First Home. The banking sector has confirmed it is committed to working with the State to develop and deliver this scheme, and has agreed in principle to match this State funding in order to increase the pool of funding available to potential new homeowners. Subject to the necessary approvals by all parties, it is anticipated that the First Homescheme will operate for the period 2022 to 2025, utilising overall funding of c. €400m to provide support to c. 8,000 households to purchase new homes.

The scheme will be operated via the First Home Scheme Ireland Designated Activity Company, which has recently been incorporated. Significant work is continuing on the detailed design and parameters of the scheme, and full details including scheme conditionality will be confirmed upon completion of this work. It is anticipated that initial activity on key areas of work, including public communications, will be conducted early in May of this year, in advance of the first receipt of applications and deployment of equity support, scheduled for end Q2.

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