Almost 300 people apply to buy 16 homes in Dublin affordable housing scheme

Almost 300 people are in contention to buy just 16 discounted homes in South Dublin County Council's first estate built under the new affordable housing scheme.

The three-bedroom duplex houses at Kilcarbery in Clondalkin cost from €245,600 to €285,300, a discount of 10-20 per cent of market values.

Applications were opened on March 1st to first-time buyers with a household income of up to €73,362. Some 293 submissions were received by the closing date last Friday and are now being assessed by the council.

Under the scheme 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.

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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.

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.

Eligible 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,” the council said.

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.

While the affordable homes scheme at Kilcarbery is vastly over-subscribed, it has not proved quite as popular as the State’s first cost-rental scheme of 25 homes in Balbriggan, north Dublin. Housing association Clúid opened applications in July 2021 and within one week more than 1,000 people had applied.