I have put together all the information I can find on affordable housing supports to help you get the best out of the supports available. I know first-hand how tough it can be to be renting and saving up to buy your first home, having juggled rent, creche fees and all for years with my family. I have always championed the development of a wide range of housing options for all types and sizes of households and will continue to do so on the council.
See below links to each available affordable housing support where you can get further information:
- Affordable Purchase: this is for anyone who is a first-time buyer or a “fresh start” buyer who cannot get a mortgage approval from the bank. In Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, any homes that come up through the Affordable Purchase scheme, 30% of these homes will be set aside for people who have lived in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown for a minimum of 8 years (at any time in your life). The remaining 70% will be available for all.
- Cost Rental: Cost rental is high quality modern rental accommodation provided by the state. This is for anyone whose houshold income (after tax) is lower than €66,000 per year but not eligible for any social housing supports. Recent cost rental initiatives in our local area include Woodside and Kilternan Wood, where for some homes, the rent is up to 40% lower than market rents in the area. Cost rental homes in Dún Oir (Kilternan) and Lisieux Hall (Murphystown/Sandyford) will become available over the coming weeks and months.
- House Purchase Loans and Mortgages: this is another support with a fixed interest mortgage from the council for first-time buyers who are struggling to secure a mortgage.
- Help to Buy Scheme: this is available for anyone buying a new-build home where you get back tax you have paid in the past 4 years.
- First Home Scheme: this is for first-time buyers where the government buys a “stake” of up to 30% of your home. You can choose to buy it back off the government at any time. The maximum value of the home that’s eligible in DLR is €475,000 (house) and €500,000 (apartment).
- Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant (Croí Cónaithe): You can get up to €50,000 back on the costs of refurbishing a vacant property or up to €75,000 on a derelict property that you then live in as your primary home.
- Repair and Leasing Scheme and Buy and Renew scheme
One of the affordable housing supports that’s really in the control of the council, is the affordable purchase scheme. This was voted on by the council in January 2023, with all councillors except for PBP, Soc Dems and some Independents voting for the council having an Affordable Purchase Scheme. No alternative solutions for affordable housing purchase were proposed by those who voted against the proposal. My Green colleagues and I proposed that there be a formal review of the scheme after 2 years, which we just about got majority support for (FG, PBP and Independents voted against).
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown are actively trying to progress the development of 52 affordable purchase apartments on a site in Ballyogan. Homes will also become available under this scheme in the Shanganagh Castle, Dundrum Central and The Mint developments, as well as other smaller developments that the council, the Land Development Agency or Approved Housing Bodies will build out over the coming years.
The LDA will soon advertise for cost rental homes in Kilternan, at well below market rents, in secure tenancies that won’t leave you stressing about the risks of having a private landlord.
If you are on household incomes below the social housing threshold (€40,000 for an individual), you are eligible to apply to be on the social housing waiting list. Details of how to apply are here. Here is the council’s current housing pipeline:
If you use a screen reader, you can read the info from the above images on page 14 of this PDF here.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown ran an affordable housing supports event last year and I hope to see more of these events in the coming years. Please get in contact with me if there’s any housing issue that I can help you with.
