Affordable Purchase Scheme

If you’re ready to take the next step towards owning your own home, the Affordable Purchase Scheme could help you bridge the gap between what you can afford and the price of a new home.

Longford County Council is currently progressing the delivery of Affordable Housing. Schemes where Affordable Homes are available will be publicly advertised on the Council’s website, in local newspapers and across social media platforms.

The online portal for Cúirt an Easpaig will open on Monday, March 30 at 10.00am.

Click this link to learn more about the Cúirt an Easpaig development and for any future updates.

Click this lin k to learn “How to Buy an Affordable Home – Step by Step Guide”

All queries relating to Affordable Housing can be sent to: affordablehomes@longfordcoco.ie

You can learn more about the Affordable Purchase Scheme by watching the video below.

How does it work?

Under the Affordable Purchase Scheme, Longford County Council is making newly built homes available at a reduced price to first-time buyers and other eligible applicants who are unable to purchase a home at full market value, even with a maximum mortgage and a 10% deposit.

Affordable homes are sold at a discounted price below their open market value and will have a minimum purchase price set by Longford County Council. To make this possible, Longford County Council take an equity share in the property.

The price you pay will be calculated by Longford County Council based on your income and mortgage capacity.

You must be able to show that you have the capacity to pay at least the minimum purchase price by using a combination of a mortgage, savings and Help to Buy (if applicable). The price you pay for your home will be higher if your income and mortgage capacity is higher.

Longford Country Council will contribute towards the difference between the open market value and the price you pay. This contribution will be expressed as a percentage and represents the equity share Longford County Council will retain in your home. This equity share is in addition to your mortgage secured from your lender.

For example, if a home is purchased at a 20% reduction on its market value, the Council will retain a 20% equity share in the home. This approach makes home ownership more affordable while allowing buyers to secure a newly built property.

Longford County Council will not seek to redeem its equity share for a 40-year period (other than in the event of breach of the agreement). You can redeem or "buy out" the equity share in part or in full at any time of your choosing, but there is no obligation to do so. Certain events may trigger the local authority to request their equity share to be redeemed. These include but are not limited to, the sale of the property, the abandonment of the property. Details of these will be set out in the Affordable Dwelling Purchase Agreement, which you will need to sign. You should discuss this with your solicitor.

Information on the Affordable Purchase Scheme is set out in the Affordable Housing Act 2021.

Click this link to read the Affordable Housing Act 2021.

All queries relating to Affordable Housing can be sent to: affordablehomes@longfordcoco.ie

How do I know if I am eligible?

You are eligible if you meet the following criteria:

You are over 18 years of age.
You are a First Time Buyer or meet the exceptions under the Fresh Start principle.
You have not previously purchased or built a home in the Republic of Ireland for your own occupation. Exceptions apply to Fresh Start Principle applicants.
Each person included in the application must have the right to reside in the State.
Your home must be your principal place of residence.
You must need at least a 5% equity stake from the local authority.
You have a minimum deposit of 10% of the purchase price.

It is recommended that applicants have their mortgage approval in principle prior to applying for an affordable home or at least be in a position to apply for a mortgage.

How do I prove my right to reside indefinitely in the State?

For non-EU/EEA applicants:

Please submit a copy of your Irish Resident Permit (IRP or GNIB Stamp 4) card, indicating which permissions you have.
Single/joint applications where both applicant(s) are Non-EEA/EU, applicants must be legally resident in Ireland for a period of 5 years; or have leave to remain extending to potentially permit 5 years reckonable residence; or have indefinite leave to remain in the State.
An application from a non-EEA/EU national, who is a spouse or civil partner of the EU /EEA national, may be considered as part of a joint application for that household, provided they have a valid residence card or permanent residence card with a valid Stamp 4EUFam.

Note: UK citizens will be regarded as being legally resides in Ireland. (This accords with the Common Travel Area requirements).

Fresh Start Principle

The following categories of persons may be eligible to apply for an affordable house under the ‘Fresh Start Principle’:

Applicant(s) that previously held a legal interest in a residential property, together with a spouse, a civil partner or a person with whom they were in an intimate and committed relationship, where this relationship has ended, and they have divested themselves of this legal interest, through any of the following mechanisms, may be eligible to apply:

Divorce
Legal separation

Supporting documentation required, examples include:

Separation agreement
Court order/decree
Affidavit from a Solicitor confirming the separation or divorce.

Applicant(s) that previously held a legal interest in a residential property but have been divested of this legal interest through insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings.

Note: A separate assessment of creditworthiness will be conducted.

Supporting documentation required, examples include:

Proof of the applicant’s status on the bankruptcy register.
Proof that any property you previously owned/built has been sold, or given as part of a personal insolvency, bankruptcy agreement or other legal insolvency process.
Solicitors letter confirming the applicant has exited insolvency or bankruptcy and that any previously purchased home has been sold or they have fully divested of that home as result of such process.

Applicant(s) that previously owned, was/were beneficially entitled to, or have an interest in a dwelling in the state and that this dwelling, because of the size, is not suited to the current accommodation needs of the applicant’s household i.e., house overcrowded, may be eligible to apply.

Supporting documentation required:

An explanation of why it no longer meets your household needs.
An up-to-date valuation of current property.
Letter from selling agent confirming the property is sale agreed and the sale agreed price.

Affordable Purchase Price

The affordable purchase price will be calculated by Longford County Council based on the “purchasing power” of eligible applicants. This calculation considers applicants maximum mortgage capacity and the minimum price set for the house by the Council.

The purchasing power of applicants will be calculated as the combined total of:

Maximum mortgage capacity, i.e., 4 times gross household income, plus,
A minimum deposit of 10% of the affordable purchase price, plus,
Relevant savings*.

*If you have savings above a certain amount, you may not qualify for the scheme. You can have the money to cover the deposit on the house and an additional €30,000. Anything above this is added to your purchasing power. If this purchasing power goes above the maximum price set for each house, you will not be eligible for the scheme.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they can fund the purchase of an affordable house between the minimum and maximum purchase prices. If an applicant’s purchasing power is below the minimum purchase price, they will need to confirm that they have additional funds such as a gift that will increase their purchasing power to the minimum purchase price.

Applicants with purchasing power assessed as over the maximum purchase price of the affordable units available will not be eligible for the scheme.

Revenue - Help to Buy (HTB) Scheme

The Help to Buy (HTB) Scheme is an incentive operated by the Revenue Commissioners. As a first-time buyer you may be eligible to avail of this scheme.

Click this link to learn more about the Revenue 'Help To Buy' Scheme.

Income Calculator

The income eligibility calculator is available at the Affordable Homes Website.

Click here to access the calculator

How can I apply?

An application will be required for each Affordable Housing scheme. Applications will only be accepted via our online portal.

Once the online portal opens, you can proceed to complete the online application form. You will be required to submit the supporting documentation through our online portal at the time of application. Each applicant will be required to submit the required supporting documentation through our portal at the time of application.

Eligible applicants will be prioritised based on Longford Council’s Scheme of Priority. Prospective buyers are encouraged to apply early as submissions are typically processed on a first-come-first-served basis. This means that eligible applications received first will be given priority.

On the day the online portal opens, a link to apply will be available on Longford County Council’s website. You can proceed to complete the online application form and submit the requested documentation.

The online portal will open on Monday, March 30 at 10.00am.

Click this link to review our Document Checklist

Do I need Mortgage Approval before applying?

While it is not a requirement, it is recommended that before applying for an affordable home, you have mortgage approval in principle from a mortgage provider confirming the maximum mortgage available to you.

An approval in principle is a letter from a lender indicating the amount of money you are eligible to borrow for a mortgage. Your application cannot be fully processed unless you have mortgage approval in principle.

A minimum deposit of 10% of the purchase price of the property will also be required so applicants should ensure they have sufficient savings before applying.

The Help to Buy (HTB) Scheme is an incentive operated by the Revenue Commissioners. As a first-time buyer you may be eligible to avail of this scheme.

Click this link to learn more about the Revenue 'Help To Buy' Scheme.

Required Documentation

In the online portal, applicants will be required to complete an application form.

We recommend having all the required documentation for each applicant saved and ready to be uploaded before you start your application.

Click this link to review our Document Checklist

This information must be uploaded to the portal as you proceed through the application form. Please ensure that the relevant documents are uploaded to the correct section as requested. This may involve the same document being uploaded under a number of different sections.

Failure to upload all required documentation to the correct section will result in delays to your application validation. If you have not provided all the required supporting documentation, you will be contacted by the Administrator to request the outstanding information. Your submission will ONLY be awarded a date and timestamp when you submit a COMPLETE application.

Scheme of Priority

A Scheme of Priority was approved by the Minister and the elected members of Longford County Council.

Click this link to view Longford County Council's Scheme of Priority.

The purpose of the Scheme of Priority is to outline the rules Longford County Council uses to decide which applicants will be offered dwellings. The Scheme of Priority will apply in the event where there are more eligible applicants than affordable units available.

Should the number of eligible applicants exceed the number of affordable units available on the scheme, priority will be applied on the following basis:

Priority will be given to eligible applicants in the date and time order that their applications were received.
Priority will be given to applicants whose accommodation needs would be adequately catered for by the type of dwelling in question:

Dwelling Type	Meets accommodation needs of
Two-bedroom dwelling	2 or more-person household
Three-bedroom dwelling	2 or more-person household

3. A minimum of 30% of the dwellings will be allocated to eligible applicants whose current address, as given in the application form, is within the Municipal District of the relevant affordable scheme or are working within 10km of the development and whose current residential address is within County Longford.

Click this link to check your eligibility

Further Information and Contact Details

You can find more information on the Affordable Purchase Scheme by clicking on the following website links:

Click this link to access 'LocalAuthorityHomeLoan.ie'

Click this link to access 'Revenue.ie'

Click this link to access 'AffordableHomes.ie'

All queries on Affordable Housing can be sent to: affordablehomes@longfordcoco.ie

Frequently Asked Questions

If you want to get some more information there is a list of FAQ which you can access below.

Click this link to access Frequently Asked Questions