The Affordable Housing Scheme is part of the Planning & Development Acts 2000 & 2002. These Acts require Builders/Developers who are applying for planning permission on zoned residential/mixed use land to make available a certain number of houses under the Affordable Housing Scheme. These are sold at a discount to other houses and apartments in the development.

An Affordable home is a house that you buy at a discount to the market price. The price depends on the area you want to live in and on the size and type of the present houses available. The property shall be your primary residence. If you sell it within 20 years, you will have to pay back a percentage of the sale price to the Council.

How much is an Affordable Home?

An affordable home is a home that you buy at a discount to the market price, but the prices vary in different areas of the country.

The discount can also change depending on the property. The price depends on the area in which you want to live and on the size and type of affordable home available. The price of affordable homes in large towns and cities tends to be higher than elsewhere.

In all cases you pay less for your affordable home than you would pay if you were buying it on the open market - that is what makes it an "affordable home".

Do I qualify?

For a single income household, income must not exceed €40,000 in the previous tax year.

For a two-household income, income must not exceed €100,000 in the previous tax year - multiply the gross income (before tax) of the principal (greater) income in the last income tax year by 2.5 and add the gross income of the subsidiary (lesser) earner in the last income tax year.

Approved applicants for Local Authority housing, and tenants and tenant purchasers of Local Authority dwellings, and tenants for more than one year of Rental Subsidy Scheme housing surrendering their dwellings, are exempt from the above income test.

The Council must be satisfied that the applicant would be able to meet the mortgage repayments, and must satisfy other relevant criteria.

Are there any Other Conditions under the Scheme?

You must not have previously owned a house.
You must occupy the house as your normal place of residence.
It is expected that you will obtain finance from an approved Bank or Building Society.
You must comply with the normal conditions in the Building Agreement applicable to the particular Development.

How Do I Apply for an Affordable Home?

You can apply by completing and submitting the Application Form for Affordable Housing. The Council will then assess your application to decide whether you qualify for an affordable home.

Click here to download Affordable Housing Application Form (PDF Document, Size: 206Kb).

What Happens Then?

When an application and all relevant supporting documentation have been submitted, your name will be added to the Affordable Housing list. As properties become available in your area of preference, you will be assessed and based on your eligibility you may be offered an Affordable House.

What Happens if there are More Applicants than Houses?

The Council will assign houses based on it's Affordable Housing Allocation of Points System.

Where Do I Apply for a Loan?

Successful applicants will receive a provisional offer from Roscommon County Council and should then apply for a loan to an approved Bank or Building Society.

There are six approved lenders at present:

Bank of Ireland
EBS (Educational Building Society)
IIB Homeloans
First Active P.L.C.
Haven Mortgages Ltd.
Ulster Bank Ltd.

Should I Engage a Solicitor?

As is normal when purchasing a house you will be required to employ a solicitor when proceeding with the house purchase. At that stage you should discuss the legal implications of the Affordable Housing Scheme with your legal adviser to satisfy yourself that you are fully aware of all the requirements of the scheme.

What Happens if I wanted to Sell the House?

As the house is sold at a discounted price, a percentage claw back applies for the first 20 years. Claw back means that if the house is sold within 20 years a certain amount of the proceeds of the sale must be paid to the local Authority.

What is "clawback"?

If you sell your affordable home within 20 years, you must pay back to the local authority a percentage of the sale price. This is known as the "clawback". This applies whether you have a local-authority mortgage or a mortgage with a bank or building society.

The local authority works out the clawback as follows:

When you buy your affordable home, you get it at a discount to other similar properties in the market. The clawback is based on the percentage discount you get when you buy your affordable home. If you decide to sell or remortgage your home, the local authority applies this percentage to the price you get for the sale.

If you sell within the first 10 years, you must pay back the full percentage from the sale that you got as a discount when you bought your home.

After 10 years, the percentage you must pay back reduces by one-tenth for each year you live in your home.

If you sell your home after 20 years, you do not have to pay any "clawback" to the local authority.

N.B. This information is to be used as a guide only and is not a legal interpretation of the scheme.

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