Affordable Purchase Housing at Kilcarbery Grange, Phase 2a

7 three-bedroom duplexes are being offered for sale by South Dublin County Council under an affordable dwelling purchase arrangement. These homes are, subject to exceptions, being made available for first-time buyers only.

The homes will be sold for a price that is lower than the market value and the affordable purchase price to be paid will be linked to applicant(s) income (and savings where relevant) and mortgage capacity – the indicative minimum and maximum price payable will be based on the market value:

Purchasers enter an affordable dwelling purchase arrangement with South Dublin County Council whereby the Council is entitled to an equity share in the house equal to the percentage discount from market value.

The provision of affordable homes is a key part of South Dublin County Council's Housing Delivery Action Plan (HDAP), which outlines details of proposed social and affordable housing delivery for 2022-2026. During its lifetime, HDAP shows the planned delivery of 2,730 affordable homes across the County as well as 3,707 new social home.

The Kilcarbery development is just one site where the Council is working to deliver affordable homes in South Dublin County. The Council has put plans in the pipeline to deliver 620 new homes at Killinarden in Tallaght. The integrated mixed tenure five-year development is heavily weighted towards the provision of affordable purchase homes with 60% of the development is projected to sell for an average of €250,000 or less per home, with 20% to be delivered as social housing.

Eligibility for this scheme will be on the following basis in accordance with the Scheme of Priority for Affordable Dwelling Purchase Arrangements:

• Applicants must have two or more people in their household
• The date and time of the application
• Applicants must be, subject to certain exceptions, first-time buyers
• Total applicant household gross income depending on market value of property is listed below:

In addition, a minimum of 30% of these homes will only be available to applicants who are or have been living in the South Dublin administrative area for a minimum of five years.

What is the Affordable Dwelling Contribution?

The Council will provide a contribution known as an “Affordable Dwelling Contribution” that facilitates the purchase of homes by an eligible applicant.  The Affordable Dwelling Contribution is the difference between the combined total of the purchaser’s deposit and maximum mortgage capacity (and savings where relevant) and the market value of the home on the date of purchase:

[Market Value] minus [Deposit + Mortgage Capacity + Relevant Savings] = Affordable Dwelling Contribution.

What is the Affordable Dwelling Equity?

This “Affordable Dwelling Contribution” will be expressed as a percentage to calculate the “Affordable Dwelling Equity”, or equity share, that the Council will retain in the home.  For this scheme, the “Affordable Dwelling Contribution” is between 15% and 21.3% of the market value of the homes depending on the successful applicant’s income.

When can the “Affordable Dwelling Equity” be repaid?

It is a condition of this scheme that the Council will register an inhibition on the property equal to the “Affordable Dwelling Equity”, or equity share, representing the percentage discount below market value that the home is purchased for.  The “Affordable Dwelling Equity” will in general become repayable upon the subsequent sale of the property or after thirty years.  The total amount repayable in respect of the “Affordable Dwelling Equity” to remove the Council’s shared equity interest from the property will depend on the future market value of the home and the timing of the repayment(s).

The Council’s equity share in the property must be repaid in full, but the timing of repayment(s) is flexible.  Purchasers can decide when to make redemption repayments on the equity share, subject to a minimum repayment amount of €10,000, other than in a case where a payment of less than €10,000 is required to redeem the housing authority’s equity in full, or the equity share can be repaid when the purchaser subsequently decides to sell the property.  The Council will keep a record of all redemption payments made by the purchaser, revising the affordable dwelling equity percentage accordingly.  When the full equity share is repaid, the Council will discharge it’s in the Registry of Deeds/Land Registry.

Can the Council demand repayment of the “Affordable Dwelling Equity”? (Other Equity Realisation Events)

The Council can demand the repayment of the affordable dwelling equity by serving a Realisation Notice on the homeowner on the occurrence of certain realisation events including:

1. a) The expiry period of 40 years without redemption in full of the equity share by the purchaser(s) (which will be the period during which the Council may not realise its equity share other than for breach of other conditions of the agreement).
2. b) Where the purchaser(s) commit an act of bankruptcy or are adjudicated a bankrupt.
3. c) A mortgagee, incumbrancer or receiver gains possession of the property.
4. d) The property is damaged by fire or demolished so as to materially affect its market value.
5. e) The property is abandoned or is no longer the principal primary residence of the purchaser(s).
6. f) The property is sold by the original purchaser(s).
7. g) The purchaser(s) is found to have deliberately misled the Council in respect of any material fact regarding eligibility in making their application.

A Realisation Notice will specify a period (not shorter than three months commencing on the service of the notice) after which the Council will be entitled to realise the affordable dwelling equity.  The procedure for this arrangement will be clearly set out in the Affordable Dwelling Purchase Arrangement.

What is an Affordable Dwelling Purchase Arrangement?

The Affordable Dwelling Purchase Arrangement is the legal agreement or contract between the Council and the purchaser setting out the terms and conditions under which the Council provides the Affordable Dwelling Contribution.

Each successful applicant will enter an Affordable Dwelling Purchase Arrangement with South Dublin County Council.  This will be done prior to closing of the purchase of their affordable home.  The agreement covers the obligations of the purchaser and the Council and makes provision for the registration of the agreement with the Registry of Deeds/Land Registry.  The agreement will also set out how and when the homeowner can make redemption payment(s) to reduce the Council’s affordable dwelling equity share as well as the conditions under which the Council may seek redemption of the affordable dwelling equity.

Successful applicants will be required to enter a Contract for Sale with the developer in order to complete the purchase of the affordable home.  This Contract of Sale will include all standard conveyancing terms and conditions and the developer with also require confirmation of the purchasers’ Affordable Dwelling Purchase Agreement with the Council.