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Tenant Purchase of Apartments Scheme (TPAS)
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Published on
Last updated on
This scheme allows you to purchase your apartment if your apartment complex has been set aside for sale to tenants by your local authority (i.e. your city or county council). The scheme began on 01 January 2012.
To be set aside for tenant purchase, an apartment complex must meet the following criteria:
If enough tenants are interested in buying their apartment, then the local authority may formally designate the apartments for the Tenant Purchase of Apartments Scheme and you can apply to your local authority to purchase your apartment.
When an apartment complex is designated for the Tenant Purchase of Apartments Scheme, a management company will be established to manage the apartment complex.
The local authority transfers ownership of the entire complex to an apartment owners’ management company.
The management company immediately leases all the apartments back to the authority for continued letting to tenants, who will then have the option of buying them from the authority.
If you purchase your apartment, you will automatically become a member of the owners’ management company which manages the apartment complex.
The owners’ management company will manage the common areas for the residents such as the stairs, landings and so on. They will also arrange insurance for the property.
The owners’ management company will have an annual charge which apartment owners will have to pay every year which will go towards the day-to-day running of the apartment complex for any major repairs or refurbishment to the apartment complex which may be needed in the longer term.
A tenant must be living in a local authority apartment for a minimum period of one year before applying to purchase the apartment.
The local authority will set the purchase price of the property
You will also need to pay a deposit of 5%.
You will pay the market value of the apartment – less a discount. There are discounts of 40%, 50% or 60% off the purchase price, depending on household income.
Your local authority will also place a charge on your apartment called an ‘incremental purchase charge’. This charge will be equal to the discount you get on the price of the apartment. The charge will remain in place for 20, 25 or 30 years (depending on the discount given).
You must live in the apartment as your normal place of residence and get agreement from your local authority if you want to sell, let or sub-let the apartment .
You will be able to resell your apartment at any time if your local authority agrees. However, if you sell before the end of the 20, 25 or 30 years, you will have to pay back the value of the outstanding charge on your apartment to your local authority.
The regulations S.I. No. 679/2011 - Housing (Tenant Purchase of Apartments) Regulations 2011 set out the conditions for the sale of local authority apartments.
You must first contact your local authority and arrange for a vote of tenants in the apartment block on whether tenants want the complex to become available for sale.
If the vote is agreeable to the proposal and your apartment block is designated for the Tenant Purchase of Apartments Scheme you should contact your local authority on the procedures required for buying your apartment.
The financing of the purchase price of the apartment is a matter for the tenant.