Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 March 2026
580. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider expanding the “Fresh Start Principle” to include individuals who have experienced credit damage arising out of a separation or divorce but are now financially stable for the purpose of mortgage applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16330/26]
View answer581. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to advise on a policy issue (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16331/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 580 and 581 together.
A Fresh Start principle applies to a number of schemes offered to homebuyers including the Local Authority Home Loan, Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan, the First Home Scheme and the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Schemes, this means that the following categories of persons who have previously owned a property are eligible to apply for these schemes:
• Applicant(s) who previously purchased or built a dwelling/dwellings, together with a spouse, a civil partner or a person with whom he or she was in an intimate and committed relationship are eligible under the Fresh Start principle where this relationship has ended, and they have divested themselves of their interest in the previous dwelling/dwellings.
• Applicant(s) that previously purchased or built a residential dwelling/dwellings, but has been divested of this through insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings, are eligible to apply. However a separate assessment of creditworthiness will be conducted by the underwriters. This applies when the applicant has exited the insolvency/bankruptcy proceedings.
This Fresh Start principle is an eligibility criteria for these schemes where applicants who meet the criteria are considered as First Time Buyers for the purpose of the scheme and become eligible to apply for the scheme, applicants either meet the criteria set out above and become eligible to apply for the scheme or do not meet the criteria and remain ineligible for the scheme. The Fresh Start principle does not take account of the creditworthiness of applicants or other eligibility criteria for these schemes. In cases where applicants require mortgage financing to purchase a home under the scheme, applicants who apply under the Fresh Start principle will still need to demonstrate the capacity to repay the loan.
The Local Authority Home Loan (LAHL), is a Government-backed mortgage for creditworthy applicants who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial lenders to purchase or build a home. The loan has been available nationwide from local authorities since 4 January 2022 for first-time buyers and fresh start applicants. All applicants for the Local Authority Home Loan must be of good credit standing and have a satisfactory credit record at the time of making an application. Credit checks are undertaken as part of this process. There are no plans to expand to change the creditworthiness requirements for applications under the LAHL scheme.
The Programme for Government 2025 and Delivering Homes, Building Communities commit to reviewing house price and income thresholds of the LAHL to ensure that it remains an accessible route to home ownership in the current housing market. I have recently been approved by Cabinet to bring forward a number of changes to the LAHL scheme, including an increase to the threshold for the Single applicants from €70,000 to €80,000, this change will be implemented in the first half of 2026.
The lending polices of private lenders are based on their commercial decisions and are outside my area of policy responsibility.
