Online application set to open next week for affordable homes

Applications to buy the first affordable homes provided by South Dublin County Council under the new affordable dwelling purchase scheme will open on Tuesday.

The 16 three-bedroom duplex houses at Kilcarbery in Clondalkin will cost from €245,600 to €285,300, a discount of 10-20 per cent of market values, and will be available to first-time buyers with a household income of up to €73,362.

The council will take an equity stake in the house equivalent to the discount the purchaser gets on the market value. Half of the 16 homes have been calculated as having a market value of €307,000, with the remainder valued at €317,000.

The percentage discount given will depend on the “specific purchasing capacity” of each applicant, said the council, based on their income and deposit. For the €307,000 this would mean homes offered at €246,600-€276,300, while the €317,000 houses would be be sold for €256,300-€285,300.

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Eligible buyers must have mortgage approval in place. And under the council’s rules for this scheme, half of the homes will be reserved for applicants who have been living in the south Dublin administrative area for a minimum of 12 months. The household must have at least three members to be eligible.

Online applications will open at noon on March 1st and close at 4pm on March 11th. With the likelihood that the scheme will be vastly oversubscribed, the successful applicants will be chosen by a computerised draw. “Selected applicants will be required to verify their application details before being offered the opportunity to purchase a property,” said the council.

Early redemption

The 10-20 per cent discount will in general be repayable to the council after 30 years, or earlier if the house is sold. However, while the percentage owed to the council doesn’t change, the value of that stake will go up or down depending on the housing market, so the purchaser may decide to pay off the council at an earlier date. From five years after their purchase, homeowners can decide when to make redemption repayments on the equity share, subject to a minimum repayment amount of €10,000.

The 16 homes are expected to be completed and ready for occupation by June and are the first of 50 affordable homes planned for sale at Kilcarbery.

The development will also have 74 cost-rental homes operated by housing association Tuath with one-bedroom apartments at approximately €1,000 a month and two-bedroom apartments expected to cost about €1,200 – a discount of about 30 per cent on market rates.

Applications for the cost-rental homes will also open shortly, for households with a net income of up to €53,000 a year.

The council also plans to provide 310 social homes at Kilcarbery.