David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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48. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will take action to address the rising cost of inflation in respect of persons who plan to use the local authority home loan scheme and have been successful in application for same but who now find that the amounts available and allowed will not meet the increased cost of building; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33053/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Local Authority Home Loan is a Government backed mortgage for those on modest or low incomes who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial banks to purchase or build a home. It has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022. The loan can be used both for new and second-hand properties, or to self-build. It is the successor to the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan.

With a Local Authority Home Loan you can borrow up to 90%of the market value of a residential property. The maximum market values of the property that can be purchased or self-built are:

- €320,000in the counties of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, and

- €250,000in the rest of the country.

This limits the amount that can be borrowed to no more than €288,000in the counties Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow and no more than €225,000in the rest of the country.

Where an applicant(s) is building their own home on a pre-owned site with planning permission, the loan will not exceed 95% of build cost and professional fees for fixed price contracts and 85% of build cost and professional fees for self-builds by direct labour.

Where an applicant(s) is building their own home on a site with planning permission to be purchased, the loan will not exceed 90% of site cost, build cost and professional fees for fixed price contracts and 80% of site cost, build cost and professional fees for self-builds by direct labour.

In the event of borrower(s) requesting additional funding following a cost overrun where they are building their own home, the Local Authority should be notified as soon as possible. The application will then be re-examined by the local authority and additional funding may be approved however, limits are applied. This is subject to the 90% LTV and not exceeding the maximum loan amount specified in the Housing Loans Regulations 2021 (S.I. No. 701 of 2021) or any Regulations or enactment amending or replacing those Regulations.

While there are no plans at present to change the house price limits, this situation will be kept under review.

Further information on the scheme is available on the dedicated websites:

localauthorityhomeloan.ie/ and www.gov.ie/en/service/00500-local-authority-home-loan-scheme/.