Various Supports
Housing Act 1988
3. Subsidy for acquisition or construction of houses.
(1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister under this section, pay, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, a subsidy towards the loan charges incurred by a person in respect of a loan made by an assurance company, a bank, a building society, a credit union, any other industrial or commercial organisation, the Housing Finance Agency plc or a housing authority for the acquisition or construction of a house.
(2) Regulations under this section may, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), make provision in relation to all or any one or more of the following:
(a) the amount of a subsidy, the conditions under which it may be paid and the manner of its payment, including payment by instalments;
(b) the payment to the body making the loan of a subsidy on behalf of the person to whom it is payable under subsection (1) and the conditions under which it is to paid to that body;
(c) the class or classes of houses in respect of which a subsidy may be paid and the class or classes of persons to whom a subsidy may be paid;
(d) requirements in relation to the loan for the house;
(e) requirements in relation to the previous purchase or building of a house by a person or the spouse [or civil partner within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010] of such person;
(f) the occupation of the house;
(g) the floor area of the house, measured in such manner as may, from time to time, be determined by the Minister;
(h) requirements in relation to the financial and family circumstances of a person to whom a subsidy may be paid;
(i) the time within which application for a subsidy shall be made;
(j) requirements that a person obtaining a subside for a new house shall have qualified for a grant in respect of the house under section 4 of the Act of 1979; and
(k) requirements in relation to the payments under any enactment (including this Act) of any other subsidy or grant in respect of the house.
(3) A subsidy shall not be paid under this section unless the house the subject of the subsidy complies with such conditions, if any, as may, from time to time, be determined by the Minister for the purposes of this section in relation to standards of construction of houses and the provision of water, sewerage and other services therein.
(4) Subsection (4) and (5) of section 4 of the Act of 1979 (as amended by this Act) shall apply to a subsidy under this section as they apply to a grant under the said section 4.
(5) In this section “Housing Finance Agency plc” means the agency established under section 2 of the Housing Finance Agency Act, 1981.
4. Grant on surrender of certain houses.
(1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for the Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister under this section, pay, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, a grant to a person—
(a) who, or whose spouse [or civil partner within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010] —
(i) in the case of a house which was provided, or which is or was owned, by a housing authority, provides the authority with vacant possession of the house by surrendering the tenancy or by conveying the house without compensation to the authority, or
(ii) in the case of accommodation allocated to a member of the Permanent Defence Force, provides the Minister for Defence with vacant possession by surrendering it,
and
(b) who purchases or builds a house for his own occupation.
(2) Where a house is being conveyed to a housing authority under this section, the following provisions shall have effect;
(a) the expenses of such conveyence may be paid in whole or in part by the authority;
(b) […]
(c) where the house is one in respect of which a subsidy has been paid under section 11 of the Act of 1979, the person conveying the housing the house, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in a transfer order under section 90 of the Principal Act, shall not be required to refund the subsidy.
(3) Regulations under this section may, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), make provisions in relation to all or any one or more of the following:
(a) the amount of a grant and the conditions under which it may be paid;
(b) the class or classes of houses in respect of which a grant may be paid and the class or classes of persons to whom a grant may be paid;
(c) requirements in relation to the minimum period of residence, whether as tenant or owner, of an applicant for a grant or the spouse [or civil partner within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010] of such applicant in a house provided or owned by a housing authority, or in accommodation being surrendered to the Minister for Defence, as the case may be;
(d) the occupation of the house being purchased or built;
(e) the class or classes of houses or accommendation which may be surrendered or conveyed;
(f) requirements that the house being purchased or built shall be suitable for the needs of the applicant for a grant and for those who might reasonably be expected to reside with him;
(g) requirements in relation to the financial and family circumstances of the applicant for a grant;
(h) matters of procedure and administration, including the discharge by specified housing authorities of specified functions in relation to the grants; and
(i) requirements in relation to the payment under any enactment (including this Act) of any other grant, subsidy or assistance in respect of the house being purchased or built.
(4) A grant shall not be paid under this section unless the house or accommodation surrendered in accordance with subsection (1) (a) and the house purchsed or built in accordance with subsection (1)(b) complies with such conditions, if any, as may, from time to time, be determined by the Minister for the purposes of this section in relation to standards including standards of construction, repair and services.
14. Provision of sites for private housing.
(1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister under this section, pay to a housing authority or to a body approved of by the Minister for the purposes of this section, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas—
(a) a subsidy of such amount as he may determine towards the loan charges incurred by the authority or the body; or
(b) a grant of such amount as he may determine,
in respect of the provision by the authority or the body of a site for the erection (other than by or on behalf of a housing authority) of a house.
(2) A subsidy under subsection (1) may, in lieu of being paid to the housing authority or body concerned, be paid, on their behalf, to the person who made the loan in respect of which the relevant loan charges were incurred.
16. Guarantees by housing authorities.
(1) A housing authority may, and shall, where so directed by the Minister, subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister for the purposes of this section, guarantee a loan or part of a loan by an assurance company, a bank, a building society, a credit union or any other industrial or commercial organisation for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, or carrying out improvement works to, a house.
(2) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, recoup out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas all or part of any payment made by a housing authority by virtue of a guarantee given under this section.
17. Mortgage of houses sold or leased by housing authorities.
(1), (2) Repealed by s.37 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts 1992 (No. 18 of 1992), which, by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 (Commencement) Order 1992 (S.I. No. 223 of 1992), came into effect on September 1, 1992.
(3) Notwithstanding section 107 of the Principal Act, a housing authority shall, before making an application for a warrant under subsection (1) of that section in respect of a house sold or leased by them. give to a mortgagee in whose favour a mortgage on the house has been effected not less than two months’ notice in writing of the authority’s intention to make the application, and every such notice shall state the grounds on which the application is to be based.
Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts 1992
5. Works by housing authorities to private houses.
(1) Subject to this section and in accordance with such terms and conditions as may, from time to time, be determined for the purposes of this section by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, a housing authority may with the consent of the owner carry out, or arrange to have carried out, works of improvement or adaptation to a house not owned by them for one or more of the following purposes:
(a) rendering the house fit for human habitation;
(b) relieving overcrowding;
(c) rendering the house more suitable for the accommodation of occupants of the house.
(2) A housing authority may exercise their functions under subsection (1) in relation to any house intended to be occupied by a person—
[(a) who has been assessed under section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 as being qualified for social housing support, but only if by exercising those functions the authority is satisfied that the person’s need for such support will be met or obviated, or]
(b) who is in occupation of a house which was provided or which is or was owned by a housing authority and the authority exercising their functions under this section are satisfied that he will provide them or another housing authority with vacant possession of it by surrendering the tenancy or by conveying it with or without compensation.
(3) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, recoup to a housing authority, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, some or all of the expenses incurred by the authority in improving or adapting a house by virtue of this section.
(4) A housing authority may in respect of a house enter into and carry out an agreement or agreements with either or both the person to whom subsection (2) relates and the owner of the house for the carrying out of works under this section.
(5) Where an agreement under subsection (4) between a housing authority and the owner relating to expenses incurred by the authority in respect of the house under this section provides for the recovery by the authority of all or a portion of such expenses, the authority may make an order charging the house with the amount of the expenses to be so recovered.
(6) An order under subsection (5) shall be deemed to be a [legal mortgage under Part 10 of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009], and the authority shall be the mortgagee for the purposes of [that Act] and shall accordingly have, in relation to every such order, all the powers conferred by [that Act] on mortgagees under mortgages made by deed.
(7) Where a housing authority make an order under subsection (5), they shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, cause the order to be registered in the Registry of Deeds or the Land Registry, as the case may require.
(8) An order under subsection (5) affecting land which is registered land within the meaning of the Registration of Title Act, 1964, shall be registrable as a burden affecting such land whether the person named in such order as the owner of the land is or is not registered under the said Act as the owner of such land.
(9) A housing authority may make a periodic or other charge in respect of works carried out under this section.
(10) Any sum due to a housing authority by any person pursuant to an agreement in relation to works carried out under this section may, without prejudice to any other power in that behalf, be recovered by the authority from that person as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(11) The terms and conditions determined by the Minister under subsection (1) may—
(a) provide for such matters as he considers necessary for the purpose of giving effect to this section, and
(b) make different provisions in relation to—
(i) houses occupied under different tenures, or
(ii) persons or houses of different classes.
(12) Where a house is being conveyed to a housing authority under this section—
(a) the expenses of such conveyance may be paid in whole or in part by the authority;
(b) in case the house is one in respect of which a subsidy has been paid under section 11 of the Act of 1979, the person conveying the house shall not be required to refund the subsidy, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in a transfer order under section 90 of the Principal Act.
22.
Payment of grants, etc., not to imply certain warranties.
(1) The granting of assistance by the Minister or a housing authority in respect of a house shall not imply any warranty on the part of the Minister or the authority, as the case may be, in relation to the state of repair or condition of the house or its fitness for human habitation.
(2) In this section the reference to the granting of assistance in respect of a house means—
(a) in the case of the Minister, the payment of a grant, subsidy or recoupment in respect of the house in accordance with a provision of or under the Housing Acts, 1966 to 1992,
(b) in the case of a housing authority, the making of a loan, the granting of a shared ownership lease, the provision of assistance or the payment of a grant or subsidy in respect of the house in accordance with a provision of or under the Housing Acts, 1966 to 1992, or the carrying out of works to the house in accordance with section 5.
Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002
PART 3
Miscellaneous
Section 11
New house grants.
11.—(1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister for the purposes of this section, pay, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, a grant to a person in respect of a new house.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations made under this section may provide for all or any of the following:
(a) the class or classes of person to whom a grant may be paid;
(b) the amount of a grant including the payment of different amounts in different circumstances and subject to those conditions that the Minister may prescribe, including conditions relating to:
(i) standards of construction of houses and the provision of water, sewerage and other services;
(ii) the efficient consumption of energy, including the use of renewable forms of energy;
(iii) sustainable building practices, including the use of recycled or re-usable building materials and the storage, removal, recycling or re-use of builder’s waste;
(c) eligibility criteria, including criteria in relation to:
(i) the occupation of the house;
(ii) payment of a grant to persons who have previously purchased or built another house for occupation by them;
(iii) the family, income or other financial circumstances of a person applying for a grant;
(iv) the information and documentation required to be provided by a person applying for a grant;
(v) requirements in relation to the payment of any other grant or subsidy in respect of a house under any enactment (including this Act);
(d) the total floor area of the house determined in the prescribed manner.
(3) Compliance with the conditions referred to in subsection (2)(b)(i) is a condition precedent to the making of a grant under this section.
Annotations
Modifications (not altering text):
C11
Functions transferred and references to “Department of Finance” and “Minister for Finance” construed (29.07.2011) by Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011), arts. 2, 3, 5 and sch. 1 part 2, in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 6-9.
2. (1) The administration and business in connection with the performance of any functions transferred by this Order are transferred to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
(2) References to the Department of Finance contained in any Act or instrument made thereunder and relating to the administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
3. The functions conferred on the Minister for Finance by or under the provisions of —
(a) the enactments specified in Schedule 1, and
(b) the statutory instruments specified in Schedule 2,
are transferred to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
…
5. References to the Minister for Finance contained in any Act or instrument under an Act and relating to any functions transferred by this Order shall, from the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
…
Schedule 1
Enactments
…
Part 2
1922 to 2011 Enactments
Number and Year
Short Title
Provision
(1)
(2)
(3)
…
…
…
No. 9 of 2002
Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002
Sections 7, 11, and 12
…
…
…
Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009
PART 6
PROVISIONS IN RESPECT OF CERTAIN GRANTS
Section 97
Grants in respect of provision of sites under section 57 of Principal Act.
97.— (1) In this section and section 98—
“market value”, in relation to a site, means the price for which the unencumbered fee simple of the site might reasonably be expected to be sold on the open market;
“qualified purchaser” means a household which—
(a) has been assessed by a housing authority under section 20 as being qualified for social housing support, or
(b) is a tenant in a dwelling provided by—
(i) a housing authority under the Housing Acts 1966 to 2009 or Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000,
(ii) a rental accommodation provider pursuant to a rental accommodation availability agreement, or
(iii) an approved body,
and includes a person in whom there subsequently becomes vested (other than for valuable consideration) the interest of the qualified purchaser or his or her successor in title and the personal representative of that person or successor in title;
“site” means a site provided by a housing authority under section 57 of the Principal Act.
(2) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, and subject to such regulations as may be made for the purposes of this section, pay to a housing authority out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas a grant of such amount as the Minister may determine in respect of—
(a) the provision by the authority of a site to an approved body for—
(i) the erection, other than by or on behalf of a housing authority, of a dwelling or dwellings for the purposes of letting to households assessed under section 20 as being qualified for social housing support, or
(ii) the erection of a dwelling or dwellings for the purposes of sale to qualified purchasers,
or
(b) the provision of a site to a qualified purchaser.
(3) The amount of a grant payable by the Minister under subsection (2), may be used to defray all or any of the following costs incurred by the housing authority—
(a) site acquisition costs including loan interest and other related costs,
(b) costs of works necessary for or incidental to the development of the site for the purposes of the erection of the dwelling or dwellings, and
(c) professional, legal and any other costs incurred by the authority in relation to the provision of the site.
(4) The Minister may make regulations providing for, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), all or any one or more of the following:
(a) the terms and conditions subject to which a grant may be made under this section, including terms and conditions relating to the ownership of a site provided by a housing authority to an approved body for the purposes specified in subsection (2) (a);
(b) the means of determining the purchase price of a site having regard to its market value;
(c) the range of the amount of the grant paid for the purposes of subsection (2) (a) (i), having regard to the location of the site and the type of dwelling to be erected on the site;
(d) the maximum grant payable for the purposes of paragraph (a) (ii) or (b) of subsection (2);
(e) requirements in relation to the payment of the grant including, but not necessarily limited to, terms and conditions relating to—
(i) the use of the dwelling as the qualified purchaser’s normal residence, and
(ii) repayments to a housing authority under section 98;
(f) requirements in relation to standards of construction and works.
Section 98
Control on resale of certain sites or dwellings thereon.
98.— (1) This section applies to a site provided by a housing authority to a qualified purchaser at a purchase price less than the market value.
(2) Where a site to which this section applies, including a site with a dwelling thereon, is first resold before the expiration of 20 years from the date of the sale of the site to a qualified purchaser, the vendor shall pay to the housing authority an amount equal to a percentage of the market value of the site only at the date of the resale, calculated in accordance with subsection (3).
(3) The percentage referred to in subsection (2) is calculated in accordance with the following formula—
Y x 100
Z
where—
(a) Y is the difference between the market value of the site at the date of the sale to the qualified purchaser and the price actually paid, and
(b) Z is the market value of the site at the date of the sale to the qualified purchaser.
(4) The amount payable under subsection (2) shall be reduced by 10 per cent in respect of each complete year after the tenth year during which the purchaser has been in possession of the site.
(5) Where the amount payable under subsection (2) would, if subtracted from the market value of the site at the date of its resale, result in an amount that is less than the price actually paid for the site, the amount payable shall be reduced to the extent necessary to avoid that result.
(6) As soon as practicable after a site to which this section applies is sold to a qualified purchaser, the housing authority shall make an order charging the site with an amount that shall be expressed in the order in the terms set out in subsection (7).
(7) The terms referred to in subsection (6) are that the amount charged is an amount equal to the amount (if any) that may subsequently become payable under subsection (2) in respect of the site.
(8) An order under subsection (6) shall be deemed to be a mortgage made by deed within the meaning of the Conveyancing Acts 1881 to 1911 and to have been executed, at the time of the sale of the site to the qualified purchaser, in favour of the housing authority for a charge of the amount referred to in subsection (7).
(9) Accordingly, the housing authority shall, as on and from the making of such an order—
(a) be deemed to be a mortgagee of the site for the purposes of the Conveyancing Acts 1881 to 1911, and
(b) have in relation to the charge referred to in subsection (8), all the powers conferred by those Acts on mortgagees under mortgages made by deed.
(10) Where a housing authority makes an order under subsection (6), it shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, cause the order to be registered in the Registry of Deeds or the Land Registry, as appropriate, and it shall be a sufficient description of the amount in respect of which the charge to which the order relates is being registered to state that amount to be the amount referred to in section 98 (7) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.
(11) An order under subsection (6) affecting a site to which this section applies which is registered land within the meaning of the Registration of Title Act 1964 shall be registrable as a burden affecting such land whether the person named in the order as the owner of the land is or is not registered under the said Act as the owner of the land.
(12) A housing authority may, subject to subsection (13), enter into an agreement with a holder of a license under the Central Bank Act 1971, a building society or other financial institution that a charge proposed to be created by it by an order under subsection (6) shall have a priority, as against a mortgage or charge proposed to be created in favour of that holder, society or institution, that is different from the priority the charge would otherwise have if this subsection had not been enacted.
(13) A housing authority may only enter into an agreement referred to in subsection (12) if it considers that the agreement will—
(a) enable a qualified purchaser to whom it is proposing to sell a site to which this section applies to obtain an advance of moneys from the holder, society or institution referred to in subsection (12) for the purposes of purchasing the site, or
(b) enable a qualified purchaser who purchased a site to which this section applies—
(i) to refinance an existing advance of moneys from the holder, society or institution referred to in subsection (12), or
(ii) to obtain a further advance of moneys from the holder, society or institution referred to in subsection (12), for any purpose.
(14) Any amount that becomes payable to a housing authority under subsection (2) may, without prejudice to any other power in that behalf, be recovered by the authority from the person concerned as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(15) For the avoidance of doubt, neither an order under subsection (6) nor a charge that arises under it shall be regarded as a conveyance for the purposes of section 3 of the Family Home Protection Act 1976.
(16) For the purposes of this section, the current market value of a site to which this section applies shall be determined by the housing authority, or, where the vendor does not agree with the market value so determined, by an independent valuer nominated by the vendor from a panel of suitably qualified persons, established by the housing authority, who are of a class or description prescribed under section 49.
(17) The housing authority shall not be liable for any expenses incurred by a vendor under subsection (16).
Section 99
Repayment of adaptation grant.
99.— (1) This section applies to a grant paid to a person under article 5 of the Housing (Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 670 of 2007), for the purpose of providing additional accommodation, pursuant to an application received by a housing authority on or after such date as may be prescribed.
(2) (a) Where a dwelling in respect of which a grant was paid is sold before the expiration of 5 years from the date of payment of the grant, the vendor shall pay to the housing authority an amount equal to a percentage of the grant.
(b) The percentage referred to in paragraph (a) is—
(i) 85 per cent of the grant paid where less than one year has passed since the date of payment of the grant,
(ii) 70 per cent of the grant paid where one year or more but less than 2 years has passed since the date of payment of the grant,
(iii) 50 per cent of the grant paid where 2 years or more but less than 3 years has passed since the date of payment of the grant,
(iv) 35 per cent of the grant paid where 3 years or more but less than 4 years has passed since the date of payment of the grant, and
(v) 20 per cent of the grant paid where 4 years or more but less than 5 years has passed since the date of payment of the grant.
(3) As soon as practicable after the grant is paid to a person, the housing authority shall make an order charging the dwelling with an amount that shall be expressed in the order in the terms set out in subsection (4).
(4) The terms referred to in subsection (3) are that the amount charged is an amount equal to the amount (if any) that may subsequently become payable under subsection (2) in respect of the dwelling.
(5) An order under subsection (3) shall be deemed to be a mortgage made by deed within the meaning of the Conveyancing Acts 1881 to 1911 and to have been executed, at the time of the making of the grant, in favour of the housing authority for a charge of the amount referred to in subsection (4).
(6) Accordingly, the housing authority shall, as on and from the making of an order under subsection (3)—
(a) be deemed to be a mortgagee of the dwelling for the purposes of the Conveyancing Acts 1881 to 1911, and
(b) have, in relation to the charge referred to in subsection (5), all the powers conferred by those Acts on mortgagees under mortgages made by deed.
(7) Where a housing authority makes an order under subsection (3), it shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, cause the order to be registered in the Registry of Deeds or the Land Registry, as appropriate, and it shall be a sufficient description of the amount in respect of which the charge to which the order relates is being registered to state that amount to be the amount referred to in section 52 (4) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.
(8) An order under subsection (3) affecting a dwelling which is registered land within the meaning of the Registration of Title Act 1964 shall be registrable as a burden affecting such land whether the person named in the order as the owner of the land is or is not registered under that Act as the owner of the land.
(9) Any amount that becomes payable to a housing authority under subsection (2), may, without prejudice to any other power in that behalf, be recovered by the authority from the person concerned as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(10) For the avoidance of doubt, neither an order under subsection (3) nor a charge that arises under it shall be regarded as a conveyance for the purposes of section 3 of the Family Home Protection Act 1976.