Tynwald backs first time buyer changes

Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall brought the changes to the two schemes following a consultation

Tynwald has approved changes to first time buyers' schemes that will cut the minimum residency requirement to three years.

Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall brought the changes to the two schemes following a consultation. 

However, for the first home open scheme - which essentially opens up the scheme to the wider housing market - there was some push back from members. 

For the first home fixed scheme, which is tied to specific new-builds under planning deals, income limits and price caps have been raised to better reflect the cost of house building and overall house prices on the island. 

There’s also a clearer interest structure too, set at one year at 0 percent, then a low rate, then a cap linked to Bank of England base rate, so buyers have a better idea what their monthly costs will look like.

The challenge in Tynwald came over the first home choice scheme, which helps people buy on the open market, which has seen the residency requirement from five years to three, which followed a public consultation. 

Mr Crookall said: "For the first home choice scheme, the consultation proposed reducing the residency requirement to one year. 

"Views on that proposal were mixed, with respondents raising concerns about maintaining an appropriate connection to the Island, whilst also recognising the benefits of supporting economically active households who choose to settle here. Having considered the feedback, the department has adopted a more balanced position by reducing the requirement from five years to three years."

However, the change was met by opposition from members including both Onchan MHKs:

Julie Edge told members she found it 'astonishing' at the change given repeated debates in Tynwald about the difficulty the Island's young residents have getting on the housing ladder. 

She said: "I know the minister has explained it, but there is not enough homes for our own. If we reduce this down to three years, there is going to be more people looking for those homes that were already eligible at five years."

Jason Moorhouse also criticised the figures which support is fixed at for a single person, where house prices are capped at £180,000 for a two-bed flat and £210,000 for a two-bed house.

He said: "It's very difficult to actually get properties at that level at the moment. There are many houses for sale at the moment on the Isle of Man, but it's probably less than 10 in the south, if anywhere close to that price."

Despite this, former DoI minister Dr Michelle Haywood defended the changes saying it there were a "practical tool available to the government to help first-time buyers bridge the gap between what they can afford with savings and a mortgage and the actual cost of purchasing a suitable home".

She added that the residency changes "recognises people who have moved here, contributed to our economy and our communities, and are ready to make that long-term commitment to the Island by buying a property".

Mr Crookall also addressed concerns in his response saying it will allow support to get moving and that if it didn't work, changes could be made in the future and restated that people subject to a 'no recourse to public funds' immigration condition will not be eligible.

Ms Edge did attempt to move an amendment to try to restore the five-year residency requirement, but that was rejected, with members then backing the changes in full.