Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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71. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will clarify the position on clawback in respect of a dwelling purchased via the affordable housing scheme (details supplied). [10374/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The legislation governing the clawback on an affordable home purchased 14 years ago is Section 99 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 or Section 9 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002, depending on the home in question. Both of these pieces of legislation set the same clawback rule: where the property is resold within 20 years, the homeowner must pay a clawback amount equal to a percentage of the proceeds of the sale. The clawback is a legal requirement which all relevant parties would have been made aware of in advance of the purchase, but the percentage reduces over time and withers after 20 years. All issues pertaining to the clawback are processed by the relevant local authority, which as a contracted party to the agreement, is the more appropriate and best placed party to inform the owner of an affordable home on their current position.

The Affordable Housing Act 2021 now applies to all homes currently being made available under the new Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme. Rather than a withering clawback, as was the case previously, there is an equity share interest which is effectively the local authority’s share in the value of the affordable home. The equity share is equal to the discount from market price on the home at the time of purchase.