S.I. No. 30/1992:

HOUSING REGULATIONS, 1980 (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1992.

HOUSING REGULATIONS, 1980 (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 1992.

The Minister for the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 5 and 39 of the Housing Act, 1966 (No. 21 of 1966) and by section 8 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 (No. 27 of 1979), with the consent of the Minister for Finance, hereby makes the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Housing Regulations, 1980 (Amendment) Regulations, 1992.

2. In these Regulations--

"the Regulations of 1980" means the Housing Regulations, 1980 ( S.I. No. 296 of 1980 );

"the Regulations of 1982" means the Housing Regulations, 1980 (Amendment) Regulations, 1982 ( S.I. No. 177 of 1982 );

"the Regulations of 1985" means the Housing Regulations, 1980 (Amendment) Regulations, 1985 ( S.I. No. 223 of 1985 );

"the Regulations of 1986" means the Housing Regulations, 1980 (Amendment) Regulations, 1986 ( S.I. No. 386 of 1986 );

"the Regulations of 1987" means the Housing Regulations, 1980 (Amendment) Regulations, 1987 ( S.I. No. 301 of 1987 );

"certificate of authorisation", in relation to a person, means a certificate of authorisation issued to that person by the Revenue Commissioners pursuant to the Finance Act, 1970 (No. 14 of 1970) as amended by the Finance Act, 1976 (No. 16 of 1976);

"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. Article 31 of the Regulations of 1980 (as substituted by the Regulations of 1982 and amended by the Regulations of 1985 and the Regulations of 1986) is hereby amended by the substitution for the Table to the article of the following Table:

" TABLE

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4. In the case of a loan--

( a ) for the construction of a house the foundations of which were not completed before the 14th day of February, 1991,

( b ) for the acquisition of a house the contract for the acquisition of which was not made before the 14th day of February, 1991,

( c ) for the carrying out of improvement works to a house where the works commenced on or after the 14th day of February, 1991,

where the housing authority are satisfied that the spouse, if any, of the borrower or any person cohabiting as husband or wife, as the case may be, with the borrower, or any joint borrower or borrowers, did not earn an income in the income tax year immediately preceding the date of the application for the loan, the amount of the income (£10,000) specified in column (3) at reference number (4) in column (1) of the Table to articles 32 and 53 of the Regulations of 1980 (as substituted by the Regulations of 1982 and amended by the Regulations of 1985 and the Regulations of 1986), shall be read as £12,000.

5. In the case of an application for a loan referred to in article 4 that is received by the housing authority after the expiry of a period of two months from the commencement of these Regulations, the applicant shall furnish to the housing authority--

( a ) (i) where the amount of the loan is less than £5,000, 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, or

(ii) where the amount of the loan is £5,000 or more, a current tax clearance certificate issued by the Revenue Commissioners to the applicant, and

( b ) except where the purpose of the loan is for the purchase of a house which has previously been occupied by another person--

(i) the name, address, tax reference number and tax district of the contractor carrying out the works, the subject of the loan, or, if there is more than one such contractor, the name, address, tax reference number and tax district of each contractor, and

(ii) the number and expiry date of the certificate of authorisation or the tax clearance certificate issued by the Collector General of the Revenue Commissioners to the contractor referred to in sub paragraph (i) or, where there is more than one such contractor, such number and expiry date in respect of each contractor.

6. An applicant for a loan for the carrying out of improvement works to a house, shall not be required, solely by virtue of article 5, to have the works carried out by a contractor.

7. Article 33 of the Regulations of 1980 (as substituted by the Regulations of 1982 and amended by the Regulations of 1985 and the Regulations of 1986) is hereby amended by the substitution for paragraph (a) of sub-article (1) of the following paragraph:

"(a) a tenant of a house provided by a housing authority who has satisfied the authority making the loan that, on the making of the loan, he will surrender his tenancy in that house to the housing authority which provided it.".

8. Article 51 of the Regulations of 1980 (as substituted by the Regulations of 1985 and amended by the Regulations of 1987) is hereby amended by the substitution for the Table to the article of the following Table:

" TABLE

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9. Article 52 of the Regulations of 1980 (as substituted by the Regulations of 1986) is hereby amended by the substitution for the Table to the article of the following Table:

" TABLE

10. Notwithstanding any provision of the Regulations of 1980 (as amended) the Corporation of the Borough of Clonmel may make loans, not exceeding £4,000 in any one case, to persons carrying out improvement works consisting of the replacement of defective roofs to houses located at Gortmalogue, Clonmel without regard to the income of such persons and whether or not secured in accordance with section 8 (2) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979 .

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment

this 7th day of February, 1992.

RORY O'HANLON,

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 7th dayof February, 1992.

BERTIE AHERN,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations make a number of further amendments to the Housing Regulations, 1980:

--to provide inter alia for increases in the amounts of local authority house purchase and improvement loans and the eligibility income limit with effect from 14th February, 1991;

--the application of the Department of Finance's tax clearance procedures to applicants for local authority housing loans and persons undertaking any work financed by such loans;

--the removal of the requirement that a tenant who hands back his local authority dwelling be in occupation of the house for six months to qualify for a special category house purchase loan.