The Affordable Housing Scheme aims to help lower income households purchase their own homes. Under the terms of the Scheme, local authorities will provide new houses on land owned or acquired by them in or near centres where house prices have created an affordability gap for lower income purchasers. The houses will be offered for sale to eligible purchasers at cost price and therefore, at significant discount from market value.

Eligibility:

The following are eligible for inclusion in the scheme:

1. Tenant and tenant purchasers of local authority houses who surrender their existing houses to the local authority.
2. Tenants of one year’s standing of houses provided by approved voluntary housing bodies under the Rental Subsidy scheme who return their houses to the Voluntary Housing Body.
3. Persons in need of housing who satisfy the following income test:
   

   • Single Income Household:
     In the last income tax year, gross income (before tax) did not exceed €36,800.
   • Two Income Household:
     The eligibility of a household with two earners is determined by a formula which takes account of the gross income (before tax) in the last income tax year, of the principal (greater) earner and the subsidiary (lesser) earner as follows: where two and a half times the income of the principal earner plus once the income of the subsidiary earner does not exceed €92,000, the household is eligible.

Examples of how the income test applies in the case of households with two earners are shown below: 

This table shows an example of how the income test applies in the case of households with two earners

Principal Income	Subsidiary Income	Formula	Eligible?
€23,000	€15,000	€23,000 x 2.5 + €15,000 Equals €72,500	Yes
€26,000	€17,500	€26,000 x 2.5 + €17,500 Equals €82,500	Yes
€28,000	€23,000	€28,000 x 2.5 + €23,000 Equals €93,000	No
€31,000	€20,500	€31,000 x 2.5 + €20,500 Equals €98,000	No

Mortgage Finance:

Loans over a 25 year term will be advanced to the purchaser by Sligo County Council from funds borrowed from the Housing Finance Agency. The loan cannot exceed 95% of the sale price and is also subject to the purchaser’s ability to repay.

The current interest rates offered are a variable rate of 3.548% (including Mortgage Protection) or a fixed rate of 5.398% (including Mortgage Protection) for the first five years. Interest rates under the Scheme may be set at different rates from time to time with changes in market rates.

WARNING Your home is at risk if you do not keep up payments on a mortgage or any other loan secured on it.

Mortgage Subsidy:

Households with a gross income not exceeding €25,500 in the preceding tax year will qualify for a mortgage subsidy towards the monthly instalments due on the loan as follows:

Household Income (p.a.)	Subsidy (p.a.)
€13,000 and under	€2,550
€13,001 - €15,500	€2,300
€15,501 - €18,000	€2,050
€18,001 - €20,500	€1,800
€20,501 - €23,000	€1,550
€23,001 - €25,500	€1,300

“Household Income” is the total gross income of the purchaser and his/her spouse or joint purchaser.

Subsidy applicants must satisfy Sligo County Council that their personal tax affairs are in order. Purchasers in receipt of the mortgage subsidy will have their household incomes for the tax year ended on the preceding 5 April reviewed before 1 July each year and the subsidy adjusted as appropriate for the subsequent year.

An applicant, once approved for subsidy in a particular band, will not be moved to a lower subsidy band until any increase in income amounts to three times the amount of the consequent reduction in subsidy. However, where a household has been in receipt of subsidy and the household’s income moves to, and remains in, the range of €25,501 - €26,500 a subsidy of £500 per annum will be available and where income moves to and remains in the range of £26,501 - €27,500, a subsidy of €318 per annum will be available. A household entering the scheme at an income over €25,500 will not qualify for any subsidy.

Where a purchaser suffers a reduction in income during the year the appropriate subsidy calculated on the reduced income may be applied, pro rata from a current date and the mortgage payment reduced accordingly.

Mortgage Allowance:

An allowance of €11,450 is payable over a five year period to tenants or tenant purchasers of local authority housing or tenants of houses provided under the Voluntary Housing Rental Subsidy Scheme who surrender their house to the relevant body.

A mortgage subsidy under the Affordable Housing Scheme is not payable in addition to the mortgage allowance. Purchasers who are eligible for the mortgage allowance scheme will be given an option of availing of the mortgage allowance or the mortgage subsidy.

Redemption:

The purchaser will have the right to repay the mortgage early in whole or part, without having to pay a redemption fee. However, if a house purchased under the scheme is resold within five years, the discount in the sale price (i.e. the difference between the original market value and the sale price) will be payable by the purchaser Sligo County Council. If a house is sold between five and ten years after original purchase a tapered repayment of the discount will apply as follows:

Number of Years	Discount
5 - 6 years	80% of discount
6 - 7 years	60%
7 - 8 years	40%
8 - 9 years	20%
9 - 10 years	10%
After 10 years	Nil

Criteria for Selection of Purchases:

Where there are a greater number of Affordable Housing Scheme applicants than the number of houses available in a particular scheme or project the Council will select the applicants to whom the houses will be offered for sale. The criteria used by the Council in making the allocations will be the relative need for housing and ability to meet mortgage repayments of the applicants.

Information:

Information on the scheme can be obtained from the Housing Section, Sligo County Council, Riverside, Sligo.
Tel: 071-91111302

It is important for applicants to note that no houses are available under this scheme at present and the provision of houses will depend on demand and availability of sufficient land.

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