S.I. No. 32/1993:

HOUSING (MORTGAGE ALLOWANCE) REGULATIONS, 1993.

HOUSING (MORTGAGE ALLOWANCE) REGULATIONS, 1993.

The Minister for the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 5 of the Housing Act, 1966 (No. 21 of 1966), as amended by section 24 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 (No. 18 of 1992), and section 3 of the Housing Act, 1988 (No. 28 of 1988), with the consent of the Minister for Finance, hereby makes the following Regulations:--

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Housing (Mortgage Allowance) Regulations, 1993.

2. (1) In these Regulations, any reference to a Schedule or article is a reference to a Schedule or article of these Regulations and any reference to a sub-article is a reference to a sub-article of the article in which the reference occurs.

(2) In these Regulations--

"house" has the meaning given to it by the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 ;

"the Minister" means the Minister for the Environment;

"tax reference number" means--

( a ) in the case of a person paying income tax under PAYE, the Revenue and Social Insurance (RSI) Number stated on any determination of tax-free allowances issued to that person by an inspector of taxes, or

( b ) in the case of a self-employed person or a company, the reference number stated on any return of income form or notice of assessment issued to that person or company by an inspector of taxes.

3. These Regulations shall apply to a subsidy (hereinafter referred to as "a mortgage allowance") payable by the Minister under section 3 of the Housing Act, 1988 , towards loan charges incurred by a person (hereinafter referred to as "the borrower") in respect of a loan made by an assurance company, a bank, a building society, a credit union, any other industrial or commercial organisation or a housing authority for the acquisition or construction of a house (hereinafter referred to as "the house provided").

4. A function which under these Regulations is to be discharged by a housing authority (hereinafter referred to as "the appointed authority"), shall be discharged--

( a ) where the house provided is situate in a county health district (inclusive of any town having commissioners under the Towns Improvement (Ireland) Act, 1854) or an urban district, other than the urban districts of Athlone, Bray or Dundalk, by the council of the county in which such county health district or urban district is situate,

( b ) where the house provided is situate in a county borough or borough, by the corporation of such county borough or borough, and

( c ) where the house provided is situate in the urban district of Athlone, Bray or Dundalk, by the council of such urban district.

5. The amount of a mortgage allowance that may be paid in respect of a loan during a period specified in column (2) of the Table to this article at any reference number in column (1) shall not exceed the amount specified in column (3) of the Table at that reference number or the amount of the loan charges incurred by the borrower in respect of the loan during that period, whichever is the lesser.

TABLE

6. A mortgage allowance may be paid to the lender of a loan in monthly instalments (or by such other periodic payments as the Minister may determine) and the lender shall, upon the receipt of any such instalment (or other periodic payment), credit it as if it were a payment by the borrower in respect of the loan.

7. (1) A mortgage allowance shall not be paid unless--

( a ) the borrower--

(i) as a tenant of a house owned by a housing authority, or

(ii) as a person, or the successor in title of a person, who was the tenant of a house provided by a housing authority and who purchased the house from the authority,

on or after the 14th day of February, 1991, provides a housing authority with vacant possession of that house by surrendering the tenancy or by conveying that house without compensation to the authority, free from arrears of rent or purchase annuities and, in the opinion of the authority, in a fit and tenantable condition;

( b ) a contract for the purchase of the house provided is made by the borrower on or after the 14th day of February, 1991, or where the borrower has the house built on a site he has available, the foundations are completed on or after that date;

( c ) the amount of the loan for the acquisition or construction of the house provided is not less than £10,000;

( d ) the house provided is, in the opinion of the appointed authority, suitable for the needs of the borrower and of those persons who might reasonably be expected to reside with him;

( e ) the borrower furnishes to the appointed authority his tax reference number and details of his tax district and a statement that, to the best of his knowledge, his tax affairs are in order;

( f ) where the house provided has not previously been occupied by any other person--

(i) if it is located in the county borough of Dublin or the administrative county of Dublin, other than the areas specified in the Schedule, the house has a principal means of space and water heating which uses electricity, gas, oil, or a solid fuel combustion appliance which will limit, to the satisfaction of the appointed authority, emissions of suspended particulates (including smoke), and

(ii) the borrower furnishes to the appointed authority in respect of the contractor carrying out the construction works to the house or, where there is more than one such contractor, in respect of each contractor, the contractor's name, address, tax reference number and tax district and the number and expiry date of a certificate of authorisation issued to the contractor by the Revenue Commissioners or of a tax clearance certificate issued to the contractor by the Collector General of the Revenue Commissioners;

( g ) on completion of the purchase of the house provided or, where the borrower has the house built on a site he has available, on completion of its construction, the borrower occupies the house as his normal place of residence;

( h ) the borrower applies to the appointed authority for the allowance.

8. (1) A mortgage allowance, and any instalments thereof, shall cease to be payable in the event of--

( a ) the borrower ceasing to occupy the house provided as his normal place of residence, or

( b ) the lender of the loan applying to a court for an order for possession of the house.

(2) Notwithstanding sub-article (1) (a), any balance of a mortgage allowance in respect of the loan for the acquisition or construction of the house provided may, where the borrower acquires or constructs another house for his own occupation, be paid in respect of a loan made to the borrower for the construction or acquisition of that other house, as if that other house were the house provided.

(3) Notwithstanding sub-article (1) (b), where a mortgage allowance has ceased to be payable in accordance with that sub-article it may again become payable if the application to the court for possession of the house is not proceeded with or an order for possession granted by the court is not executed, upon the Minister being satisfied that the borrower has reached an agreement with the lender of the loan in relation to the matter on which the application for possession was grounded and payment may be made of any portion of the allowance that would have been payable, had the said application not been made, in respect of the period from the date of the making of the application.

9. Not more than one mortgage allowance shall be payable by virtue of the surrender of any one house in accordance with article 7 (1) (a).

10. A mortgage allowance shall not be paid in respect of a loan for the acquisition or construction of a house where--

( a ) such house is held by the borrower under a shared ownership lease granted by a housing authority under sections 2 and 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 , or

( b ) works are carried out to such house under section 5 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 , for the benefit of the borrower or any person who might reasonably be expected to reside with him.

SCHEDULE

Excluded areas of the administrative county of Dublin

1. The District Electoral Divisions of--

2. That part of the District Electoral Division of Swords -- Lissenhall situated north of the Broad Meadow River.

3. That part of the District Electoral Division of Glencullen situated west of an imaginary line drawn as follows:-- Commencing at the junction of Slate Cabin Lane and Woodside Road, thence in a south-easterly direction and proceeding along Woodside Road and Ballyedmonduff Road to the county boundary at Glencullen Bridge.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment,

this 5th day of February, 1993.

MICHAEL SMITH,

Minister for the Environment.

The Minister for Finance hereby consents to the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Finance, this 5th day of February, 1993.

BERTIE AHERN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations provide for the mortgage allowance for tenants and tenant purchasers of local authority houses who surrender their houses to the authority and provide another house for their own occupation with the assistance of a mortgage loan of not less than £10,000. The allowance is paid to the agency making the loan in annual instalments for the first five years of the loan and is credited towards the borrowers loan charges during that period.