No. You must be a first-time buyer to apply for a Local Authority Home Loan unless you are availing of the Fresh Start Principle.
You are eligible to apply for a Local Authority Home Loan under the Fresh Start Principle if you:
Previously purchased or self-built a residential property, and
Are divorced/separated or otherwise no longer in a relationship with your co-owning partner, and
Have left the family home and divested yourself of your interest in the property or
Previously purchased or self-built a residential property and
Have been divested of this through insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings
The Fresh Start Principle does not allow a Local Authority Home Loan to be used to buy out a former partner’s share of a family home.
First Time Buyers of the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan Eligible Property.
You are permitted to have purchased the property which is the subject of the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan application and still be eligible for the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan , in which case you would be applying for a renovation-only Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan .
This must be the first home you have purchased and you must have no outstanding mortgage on the property (as the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan must have the first charge).
Am I eligible if I have inherited a property?
Yes. You are eligible to apply for the Local Authority Home Loan Scheme even if you inherited a property, i.e., if you own a house that you did not purchase.
Am I eligible if I inherited a portion of a property and want to buy out the remainder of the property from those who have also inherited the property
Yes, you are eligible to apply for the Local Authority Home Loan Scheme even if you inherited a portion of a property. The purchase price of the property is determined by deducting the value of any inherited share of the property from the property’s open market value. The deposit you will require is based on this determined purchase price.
Am I eligible to apply if I am from a country outside the Republic of Ireland?
Yes, you are eligible to apply if you currently have a legal right to reside and work in the State. Furthermore, there are minimum periods of residence required for non-EU/EEA applicants:
All Irish citizens are automatically legally resident.
UK citizens will be regarded as being legally resident in Ireland. (This accords with the Common Travel Area requirements).
All EU/EEA citizens who are legally resident in the State will not be eligible to apply for a Local Authority Home Loan for the first three months of residence in the State. Thereafter, they will be eligible to apply.
Non-EEA/EU citizens
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.
There are limited circumstances in which the right to work in Ireland is not required. Given that there is no requirement that the second applicant in a joint application must be in employment, and that therefore one-earner joint applications are permissible, there is also no requirement that the second applicant in a one-earner joint application has a right to work in the State.
Reckonable residence refers to residency that counts towards becoming eligible for Irish citizenship by naturalisation
I am married/in a civil partnership/in a committed relationship – can we apply as two single applicants?
If you are married, in a civil partnership or in an intimate and committed relationship with a partner with whom you intend to reside within the property that you wish to purchase, you must apply for a Local Authority Home Loan together with your spouse, civil partner or partner, either as a joint income applicant or a one earner joint applicant.
What evidence of insufficient mortgage offers do I need?
You must have received insufficient mortgage offers from two regulated mortgage providers to be eligible to apply for the Local Authority Home Loan. Evidence must be dated within twelve months of your application, and the amount you have been offered must be equal to or less than the Local Authority Home Loan amount sought.
Examples of acceptable evidence are:
A letter from a regulated mortgage provider showing the amount you requested and were offered, and/or
A letter from a regulated mortgage provider stating that your application is outside their lending criteria, and/or
An on-line calculator output sheet from a regulated mortgage provider website, showing that you have insufficient borrowing capacity for the amount sought under your Local Authority Home Loan application.
A letter from a mortgage broker firm confirming that you have been unable to secure sufficient mortgage finance from two regulated mortgage providers, with supporting screenshots or print outs of the attempts made.
A regulated mortgage provider is a company that is regulated and permitted by the Central Bank of Ireland to provide monies to borrowers who wish to purchase a property, such as banks, building societies and credit unions.
Insufficient Offers of Finance for the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan
If the loan offer from the commercial lenders is below the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan required, then you meet the insufficient offers of finance criteria.
If the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan required is within your borrowing capacity based on your stated income, you are required to show two specific loan rejections from commercial lenders for this renovation project.
If evidence of insufficient offers of finance are not provided, you are ineligible to apply .