The provision of Affordable Housing should be overhauled so that second-hand properties can be included, according to a new report.
At the moment, people participating in the scheme are limited to buying new houses or apartments.
The study, which was commissioned by the Affordable Homes Partnership, looks at how supply can be improved and increased in the coming years.
The number of affordable homes increased from a nationwide total of around 1,500 in 2001 to almost 3,500 by 2006.
But ambitious targets to supply 17,000 homes in the three years to 2009 are a long way from being realised.
The report says to achieve this goal, output will have to be accelerated even further in the years ahead.
It says that at the moment there are insufficient incentives to encourage local authorities to bring forward affordable housing or minimise delivery times.
It recommends that the existing Shared Ownership Scheme should be replaced with a scheme based on the provision of an equity loan.
This would open up the second-hand housing market to the Affordable Homes initiative and allow individual purchasers to choose their desired properties, rather than picking from a set list of new developments, as is presently the case.
The report also says the existing ‘clawback’ system - where home owners repay the local authority a percentage of the initial discount, if they sell their properties within 20 years - should be abolished.
It says the present system acts as a disincentive for people to move, and removal of the limit would mean that existing stock could be retained as affordable properties.
The study says this move would transform the status of affordable housing stock.
It also says there is a role for the private sector in the provision of affordable housing which should be examined.
On foot of the report, the Minister of State with responsibility for Housing, Batt O'Keffe, has invited feedback from social partners, developers, financial institutions and the general public.
Interested parties can comment until the end of next month.
