Mortgage Allowance Scheme
The Mortgage Allowance Scheme is a social housing option which facilitates tenants and tenant purchasers of Local Authority dwellings, who wish to return their dwellings to the authority and purchase or build a private dwelling for their own occupation by reducing their mortgage repayments over the first five years of the mortgage.
Tenants of approved voluntary housing bodies, with tenancies of dwellings provided under the Rental Subsidy Scheme, are also eligible for the scheme. The amount of the allowance is €11,450 payable over five years.
Amount of Mortgage Allowance
The amount of the allowance is €11,450, payable over five years as follows:
- Year 1 = €3,560
- Year 2 = €2,800
- Year 3 = €2,040
- Year 4 = €1,780
- Year 5 = €1,270
The allowance or the allowance plus income tax relief on mortgage interest cannot, in any year, exceed the amount of the loan charges due.
Who qualifies for the allowance?
The allowance is payable to persons who:
- Are tenants or tenant purchasers of Local Authority dwellings or are tenants with tenancies that are not less than one year’s duration, of houses provided by an approved voluntary body under the Rental Subsidy Scheme
and
- Return their existing dwelling to the authority or the voluntary body, as applicable, in a fit and tenantable condition (having regard to reasonable wear and tear and any repairs for which the tenant is not responsible) and are free of arrears of rent or tenant purchase annuities
and
- Purchase or build a private dwelling for their own occupation
and
- Provide the private dwelling by way of a mortgage loan of not less than €38,092.
Occupancy of private dwelling
The applicant(s) must continue to occupy the private dwelling as their normal place of residence throughout the five-year period to which the allowance relates.
Information on Mortgages
Loans for the purchase or building of dwellings may be obtained from the commercial lending agencies (e.g. banks, building societies etc.) subject to the conditions they lay down. Enquiries concerning the qualifying conditions for a loan from a commercial agency should be made directly to them. If an applicant is unable to obtain a loan suitable to their requirements from a commercial agency, they may apply to the Local Authority for a loan. Evidence must be produced to the authority of a genuine refusal of a loan from two commercial lending agencies. Details of the Local Authority Home Loan Scheme may be obtained from the Local Authority or www.localauthorityhomeloan.ie.
Applicants should note that the payment of a mortgage allowance involves no warranty on the part of the Minister for Housing, Local Government & Heritage or the Local Authority as to the work carried out or the structural soundness of a dwelling.
Where to apply for Mortgage Allowance?
Application should be made to the Local Authority for the area in which the private dwelling is being purchased or built. Where the dwelling is situated in County Cork, completed application form should be sent to :
Housing Loans Section, Cork County Council, Floor 4 (Extension), County Hall, Cork.
Email: housingloans@corkcoco.ie.