Affordable Housing Scheme Affordable houses are available to first-time buyers, to persons who have divorced or undergone personal insolvency. The scheme assists eligible applicants in purchasing a house at a reduced rate. The Housing Authority may acquire build, cause to be built or otherwise provide dwellings for that purpose. The Housing Authority may enter into arrangements with approved bodies. It may enter public-private partnership arrangements. […]
Housing Finance Agency The Housing Finance Agency is a state organisation that was designed to tap financial markets in order to advance funds to local authorities for the purpose of loans under the Housing Act. The agency advances loans to local authorities for their housing functions and also lends to individual housing bodies and voluntary organizations. The HFA may transfer the benefit of the loans […]
Grants & Subsidies Grants and subsidies may be provided by a housing authority for various purposes. This includes the provision of a new house assisting in mortgage payments payments to finance the acquisition and construction of a new house adaptation grants for elderly and disabled persons rent of houses in the shared ownership scheme.
Redemption and realisation of equity The affordable dwelling equity is: redeemed by the homeowner by making redemption payments or repaid out of the proceeds of a sale by the homeowner, or realised by the housing authority. These are the different means by which an affordable dwelling purchase arrangement is brought to an end. Redemption payments The homeowner may, at any time after the making of […]
Overview The purpose of the Affordable Housing Act is to provide the legislative and policy framework for a number of schemes aimed at making housing for purchase and rent more affordable for eligible households. These include the provision of affordable purchase housing by Local Authorities and the Land Development Agency, the introduction of a new Affordable Purchase Shared Equity scheme for the delivery of homes […]
Affordable and Shared Ownership A number of affordable housing and shared ownership schemes were developed in the late 1980s and ’90s. Under the schemes, the owners acquired a long lease, but at a rent at a certain portion, usually meeting 50 per cent of the market rent. In this sense, the ownership was shared, and the notional share owed by the State was realised. […]
Mortgage Interest Supplement (Closed) Mortgage interest supplement was a short-term support for persons in payment of mortgage interest repayments. Mortgage interest supplement applied to interest on mortgage repayments less mortgage interest relief. The scheme applied only to the interest part of the payment. It did not cover capital or payment of life/mortgage protection policies, etc. After June 2012, the applicants must show that they have […]
Incremental Purchase Scheme The 2009 legislation provided for an incremental purchase scheme. Under the scheme, the title to the house is transferred to the occupiers, with the housing authority retaining part of the unpurchased equity. The objective is that this should decline over time. The local authorities have the first option to purchase the property upon sale, as to the part of its value not […]
Part V Planning Requirements Part V of affordable housing arose from housing units or sites set aside by developers as a condition of planning permission. This arose under part V of the Planning and Development Act. The local authority could designate certain houses as affordable housing. Persons are eligible to buy affordable houses, potentially, if 35 per cent of their income would not cover the […]
Original Scheme The Shared Ownership Schemes were initiated by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. The local authority may grant a shared ownership lease geared in such a way that the local authority and the lessee have valuable respective interests in the property. The local authority s charges a rent in respective of the retained share of ownership and the tenant pays a mortgage on […]
Powers of Sale Local authorities have the power to sell or lease dwellings under a purchase scheme to another housing authority or to other persons where the dwellings are not occupied. Regulations may be made in relation to the classes of houses to which a purchase scheme may apply the determination of the discount, allowance to be deducted from the purchase price and other terms […]