Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979

Subsidies by Minister and housing authorities for purchase or construction of houses.

11.—(1) (a) 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 a subsidy to a housing authority out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas where the authority—

(i) make a loan under section 39 of the Principal Act, or

(ii) sell a house under section 90 of the Principal Act to a person who is not the tenant of the house in a case in which the purchase money is payable by instalments.

(b) Where the Minister pays a subsidy under this subsection to a housing authority, the authority shall reduce the amount of the relevant repayments of the loan concerned or the relevant instalments of the purchase money concerned, as the case may be, by amounts the total of which is equal to the amount of the subsidy.

(2) (a) Where a housing authority—

(i) make a loan under section 39 of the Principal Act, or

(ii) sell a house under section 90 of the Principal Act to a person who is not the tenant of the house and the purchase money is payable by instalments,

the authority may, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance and subject to such regulations as may be made by the Minister for the purposes of this section, pay a supplementary subsidy not exceeding the amount of a subsidy under subsection (1) of this section to the person to whom the loan is made or the house is sold, as the case may be, in respect of expenditure incurred by him in relation to the transaction to which the loan or sale relates.

(b) A subsidy under this subsection shall be paid by means of a reduction of the relevant repayments of the loan concerned or the relevant instalments of the purchase money concerned, as the case may be, by amounts the total of which is equal to the amount of the subsidy.

(3) Regulations under this section may, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, make provision in relation to all or any one or more of the following:

(a) the amount of a subsidy under subsection (1) of this section,

(b) the prohibition of the payment of a subsidy under this section to a person to whom, or to whose spouse, a subsidy under this section has previously been paid,

(c) a requirement that upon—

(i) the sale of a house by a person to whom a loan or sale specified in subsection (1) of this section is made in respect of that house,

(ii) the lease, letting or transfer of a house to which this section refers to a person other than the spouse, parent, son or daughter of such person as aforesaid, or

(iii) the redemption of a loan made under section 39 of the Principal Act or the payment of the purchase money, in relation to a sale under section 90 of the Principal Act,

within a specified period after the payment of a subsidy under this section in relation to the relevant loan or sale, as the case may be, the person shall pay to the housing authority a specified amount not exceeding the amount of the subsidy or subsidies, and the authority shall pay to the Minister a specified amount not exceeding the amount of the subsidy paid under subsection (1) of this section.