Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title and commencement.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002.

(2) The Housing Acts, 1966 to 1998, and this Act, other than sections 17 to 20, 22, 23 and 24 and Schedules 2 and 3, may be cited together as the Housing Acts, 1966 to 2002, and shall be read together as one Act.

(3) This Act, other than section 12, shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions or for the repeal of different enactments effected by section 4.

2. Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

“Act of 1992” means the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992;

“house” includes any building or part of a building used or suitable for use as a dwelling and any outoffice, yard, garden or other land appurtenant thereto or usually enjoyed therewith and “housing” shall be read accordingly;

“housing authority” has the meaning assigned to it by section 23 (as amended by section 16) of the Act of 1992;

“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment and Local Government;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“Principal Act” means the Housing Act, 1966.

(2) In this Act—

(a) a reference to a Part, section or Schedule is to a Part or section of, or Schedule to, this Act, unless it is indicated that a reference to some other enactment is intended,

(b) a reference to a subsection or paragraph is to the subsection or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that a reference to some other provision is intended, and

(c) a reference to any other enactment shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be read as a reference to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment, including this Act.

3. Regulations.

3.—(1) The Minister may make regulations—

(a) prescribing any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed or in relation to any matter referred to in this Act as the subject of regulations, or

(b) for the purposes of, and for the purposes of giving full effect to, this Act.

(2) Regulations made under this Act may—

(a) include any incidental, supplemental and consequential provisions that appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient, or

(b) apply either generally or to a specified class or classes of persons or to any other matter that the Minister may consider to be appropriate and include different provisions in relation to different classes of persons.

(3) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the regulation.

4. Repeals.

4.—Each enactment specified in column (2) of Schedule 1 is repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule.

PART 2 Affordable and Shared Ownership Housing Schemes

5. Definitions.

5.—In this Part—

“affordable house” means a house made available for sale in accordance with this Part by a housing authority at a price less than the market value and “affordable housing” shall be read accordingly;

“market value”, in relation to a house, means the price which, in the opinion of the housing authority concerned, might reasonably be obtained in respect of such house, if sold on the open market;

“shared ownership lease” means a shared ownership lease granted by a housing authority under section 3 of the Act of 1992.

6. Provision of affordable houses.

6.—F1[…]

7. Subsidy towards housing loan charges.

7.—(1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance and subject to regulations that 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 to whom a housing authority makes a loan for the purchase of an affordable house.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under this section may provide for all or any 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 housing authority 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 paid to the housing authority;

(c) the class or classes of persons to whom a subsidy may be paid;

(d) requirements in relation to the family, income and other financial circumstances of a person to whom a subsidy may be paid;

(e) the period within which application for a subsidy shall be made;

(f) requirements in relation to the payment of any other subsidy or grant in respect of a house under any enactment (including this Act).

8. Allocation of affordable houses.

8.—F2[…]

9. Control on resale of affordable houses.

9.—F3[…]

10. Shared ownership lease: purchase of interest of housing authority in house or sale of house.

10.—F4[…]

PART 3 Miscellaneous

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.

12. Assistance by Minister to approved bodies.

12.—(1) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, pay out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, a grant in respect of the administrative and general expenses of a body to which this section applies and standing approved of by the Minister for the purposes of this section.

(2) This section applies to a body which—

(a) represents or promotes the formation of co-operative or voluntary groups or associations which have as an object the provision of—

(i) houses, or

(ii) sites (within the meaning of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998) for the accommodation of travellers (within the meaning of that Act),

or

(b) provides information, advice or training or conducts research in relation to housing including housing needs, standards, management, finance or any other aspect of housing policy either generally or in relation to a particular class or classes of persons that the Minister may specify, in particular, elderly persons, persons with a disability, homeless persons (within the meaning of the Housing Act, 1988) or travellers (within the meaning of the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act, 1998).

(3) A grant made under this section shall be subject to the terms and conditions that may be determined by the Minister from time to time.

(4) This section shall be deemed to have come into operation on 1 January 2001.

13. Provision of information to Minister by mortgage lenders.

13.—(1) In this section “mortgage lender” has the same meaning as in the Central Bank Act, 1997.

(2) The Minister may, from time to time, in the interests of consumer protection or for the purposes of his or her functions in relation to housing or the development and co-ordination of housing policy or relevant financial and economic policies, require mortgage lenders to provide to the Minister such information as the Minister specifies, including the following:

(a) in respect of a person to whom a mortgage lender has granted approval for a mortgage or granted a mortgage, his or her age, gender, F5[civil status within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010] and income level, the nature of his or her employment and whether the person is a first time buyer;

(b) the purpose, amount, type and term of the mortgage and the applicable rate of interest;

(c) the price, age, size and type of house in respect of which a mortgage is sought and its location by reference to the relevant country or, where the house is located in the State, the relevant county or postal district.

(3) The information referred to in subsection (2)—

(a) shall be provided at the times and in the form and manner that the Minister requires, and

(b) shall not include information that directly identifies or may identify a person and, in particular, it shall not include the names, dates of birth or addresses of persons in respect of whom information is requested or provided.

(4) (a) Subject to subsection (5), where information is provided to the Minister under this section, the information shall not be disclosed by any person receiving, inputting, storing, managing, processing, analysing, accessing or using the information, except in accordance with any arrangements that may be made by the Minister with the mortgage lenders concerned.

(b) Information that is provided to the Minister under this section or that is derived from an analysis of such information shall not be disclosed where it directly or indirectly identifies or may identify a person or mortgage lender.

(5) Subsection (4) shall not apply to a disclosure of information which is required by or under any enactment or by a rule of law or order of a court.

(6) The Freedom of Information Act, 1997, is amended in Part I of the Third Schedule by inserting—

(a) in column (1), “No. — of 2002”,

(b) in column (2), “Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002”, and

(c) in column (3), “Section 13”.

14. Amendment of section 58 of Principal Act (Management and control of certain dwellings, etc.).

14.—Section 58 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting the following after subsection (1):

“(1A) The management and control of the common areas appurtenant to a dwelling and provided by a housing authority under this Act are not required to be vested in the housing authority under subsection (1) of this section.

(1B) A housing authority may perform management and control functions vested in it under subsection (1) of this section in respect of any dwelling of which the housing authority is not the owner and which is provided under a contract or lease between the housing authority and the owner of the dwelling.”,

and

(b) by inserting the following after subsection (3):

“(3A) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3) of this section, charges made under that subsection may include—

(a) charges relating to the provision of services to, and the insurance of, a dwelling and other charges relating to the management and control of the dwelling, or

(b) any other charges that may be prescribed under this section in relation to:

(i) the management and control of common areas appurtenant to a dwelling, where those common areas are also used by the occupants of other dwellings;

(ii) the provision of services where those services are also provided to the occupants of other dwellings.

(3B) A housing authority may make such charge under subsection (3) of this section, whether by way of rent or otherwise, as it considers appropriate, in respect of any dwelling of which the housing authority is not the owner and which is provided under a contract or lease between the housing authority and the owner of the dwelling.”.

15. Amendment of section 90 of Principal Act (Power of housing authority to sell certain dwellings).

15.—Section 90 (inserted by the Act of 1992) of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following after subsection (6)—

“(6A) Where a dwelling is sold to a tenant under a purchase scheme, the housing authority shall not be liable after the date of sale for any charges payable in respect of the dwelling relating to:

(a) the provision of services to and the insurance of the dwelling and other charges relating to the management and control of the dwelling;

(b) the management and control of common areas appurtenant to the dwelling, where those common areas are also used by the occupants of other dwellings;

(c) the provision of services where those services are also provided to the occupants of other dwellings.”.

16. Amendment of section 23 of Act of 1992.

16.—Section 23 of the Act of 1992 is amended—

(a) by substituting the following for subsections (1) and (2):

“(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a reference in the Housing Acts, 1996 to 2002, to a housing authority means, in the case of—

(a) a county, the county council,

(b) a city, the city council,

(c) a borough mentioned in Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 to the Act of 2001, except as respects—

(i) section 6 of the Act of 1979,

(ii) section 8 of the Act of 1988,

(iii) sections 2 to 4 and sections 6 and 7 of this Act, and

(iv) Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002,

the borough council and, as respects each of those sections, the county council in whose administrative area the borough is situate,

(d) a town mentioned in Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 to the Act of 2001, except as respects—

(i) section 6 of the Act of 1979,

(ii) sections 8 and 16 of the Act of 1988,

(iii) sections 2 to 4 and sections 6, 7 and 11 of this Act, and

(iv) Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002,

the town council and, as respects each of those sections, the county council in whose administrative area the town is situate,

(e) a town mentioned in Part 2 of Schedule 6 to the Act of 2001, except as respects—

(i) sections 34 to 36 and section 41 of the Principal Act,

(ii) section 6 of the Act of 1979,

(iii) sections 2 and 6, sections 8 to 10 and sections 13 and 16 of the Act of 1988,

(iv) sections 2 to 7, sections 10 to 12, and sections 14, 17, 18, 20, 34 and 35 of this Act, and

(v) Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002,

the town council and, as respects each of those sections, the county council in whose administrative area the town is situate,

and references to the functional area of a housing authority shall be construed accordingly.

(2) A reference in the Housing Acts, 1966 to 2002, to a housing authority means, in the case of—

(a) the boroughs of Drogheda, Sligo and Wexford, except as respects—

(i) section 6 of the Act of 1979,

(ii) section 8 of the Act of 1988, and

(iii) sections 6 and 7 of this Act,

the respective borough councils and, as respects each of those sections, the respective county councils in whose administrative areas those boroughs are situate,

(b) the town of Bray, except as respects—

(i) section 6 of the Act of 1979,

(ii) section 8 of the Act of 1988,

(iii) sections 2 to 4 and sections 6 and 7 of this Act, and

(iv) Part 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2002,

the town council and, as respects each of those sections, the county council in whose administrative area that town is situate,

(c) the towns of Athlone and Dundalk, except as respects—

(i) section 6 of the Act of 1979,

(ii) section 8 of the Act of 1988, and

(iii) sections 6 and 7 of this Act,

the respective town councils and, as respects each of those sections, the respective county councils in whose administrative areas those towns are situate,

and references to the functional area of those housing authorities shall be construed accordingly.”,

and

(b) by inserting the following after subsection (4):

“(5) In this section ‘Act of 2001’ means the Local Government Act, 2001.”.

17. Amendments to Housing Finance Agency Act, 1981.

17.—The Housing Finance Agency Act, 1981 (as amended by the Act of 1992), is amended—

(a) in section 4(2), by substituting the following for paragraphs (b) and (c)—

“(b) to provide moneys to enable such loans to be made by housing authorities,

(c) to provide moneys—

(i) to local authorities to be used by them for any capital purpose authorised by or under any enactment mentioned in the Schedule to this Act;