Planning and Development Act, 2000

Allocation of affordable housing.

98.—(1) Affordable housing may be sold or leased only to eligible persons who qualify in accordance with a scheme established by a planning authority under subsection (2).

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), each planning authority shall establish a scheme which determines the order of priority to be accorded to eligible persons.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), when establishing a scheme referred to in that subsection, the planning authority shall have regard to the following:

(a) the accommodation needs of eligible persons, in particular eligible persons who have not previously purchased or built a house for their occupation or for any other purpose;

(b) the current housing circumstances of eligible persons;

(c) the incomes or other financial circumstances of eligible persons (and priority may be accorded to eligible persons whose income level is lower than that of other eligible persons);

(d) the period for which eligible persons have resided in the area of the development plan;

(e) whether eligible persons own houses or lands in the area of the development plan or elsewhere;

(f) distance of affordable housing from places of employment of eligible persons;

(g) such other matters as the planning authority considers appropriate or as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section.

(4) A planning authority—

(a) shall, when making or reviewing a development plan under Part II, and

(b) may, at any other time,

review a scheme made under this section and, as it sees fit, make amendments to the scheme or make a new scheme.

(5) The making of a scheme under this section and the making of an amendment to any such scheme shall be reserved functions.

(6) For the purposes of allocation under this section, a planning authority may, from time to time, set aside such specified number or proportion of affordable houses, for such eligible persons or classes of eligible persons, as it considers appropriate.

(7) In this section and section 99 , “lease” means a shared ownership lease within the meaning of section 2 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992 .