A Bill to protect home buyers from being forced to pay for houses long before they occupy them has been published by Fine Gael Senator Paul Coghlan and he is calling on the Government to adopt the measure.
Mr Coghlan, the party spokesman on Enterprise in the Seanad, said the unfair system of staged payments was prevalent in new housing estates across the country. "This blatant anti-consumer activity, which fundamentally undermines and weakens the position of people buying homes, is costing them an estimated €175 million a year.
"It is a disgrace that the Government has failed to move on this issue, despite promising to do so in 2004 when I published a private member's Bill to eliminate this practice. The Bill was voted down by the Government on the basis that substantial progress would be made within six months.
"However, since then no proposals have been forthcoming from Government and consumers have continued to be ripped off by this immoral practice," said Mr Coghlan.
The practice of staged payments forces home buyers to get expensive bridging finance from financial institutions to pay for their houses in advance, long before their mortgages come through. Delays in the completion of housing estates can end up costing the house buyers tens of thousands of euro on top of the price of the house.
"I am putting my Bill back before the Seanad in order to outlaw stage payments, once and for all. Stage payments result in hard pressed consumers having to pay the full price of a house long before they can occupy it.
"The practice fundamentally weakens the position of consumers in their dealings with builders and is unjust and unequal.
"The abolition of stage payments was recently recommended by the Government Review Group on the Auctioneering Profession. There is now no excuse for Government to continue to oppose this measure."
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