Council gets ready to advertise Tipperary's first affordable housing scheme
Councillors have pressed for affordable housing schemes for other towns in the county as the council prepares to advertise the county’s first scheme of 10 homes in Clonmel
Councillors have pressed for affordable housing schemes to be rolled out throughout Tipperary in the wake of the Government's approval of the county's first such scheme of homes for Clonmel.
Several councillors called for the extension of affordable housing schemes to the county's smaller towns like Cahir, Cashel and Tipperary at Tipperary County Council's June meeting in Clonmel.
They did so as they approved the Council's Scheme of Priority for Affordable Dwelling Purchase Arrangements, tabled hot on the heels of the Minister for Housing's approval of an affordable housing scheme of 10 homes for Clonmel.
The homes at Moangarriff, which are under construction, will be advertised by Tipperary County Council in the coming weeks, the Council's Director of Housing Jonathan Cooney confirmed to The Nationalist.
If this initial phase goes well, the Council hopes 10 further houses in the same estate will be approved under the Affordable Homes Scheme.
A separate application to approve 30 more homes in another housing estate under construction in Clonmel is also currently with the Department of Housing.
The meeting heard the Council is ready to submit an application seeking approval for Nenagh's first affordable housing scheme.
Under the scheme, approved applicants can purchase a home at a price lower than the market value in return for the council taking a percentage equity in the property.
Mr Cooney gave the example at the council meeting of a house costing €375,000 on the open market and requiring a 10% deposit. In order to qualify for a mortgage to buy it, you need a salary of €84,375.
But under the affordable housing schemem the applicant or joint applicants can have a minimum salary of €67,500 and the local authority can take a maximum equity stake of €75,000 or 20% of the value of the property. Over time, the successful applicants can buy out the Council's equity in the home.
Details of the Clonmel affordable housing scheme will be advertised in a local newspaper and on Tipperary County Council's website, and applications will be submitted via an online portal that is being set up by the local authority.
The Scheme of Priority approved at last week's Council meeting details the manner in which affordable house purchase arrangements are to be made available by the Council including calculation of income limits for eligibility, the advertisement of the properties, and methodology that will be used to determine the order of priority for eligible applicants.
The Council's Housing SPC Chairperson Cllr Mary Hanna Hourigan said it was great to see affordable homes coming on stream in Tipperary but noted the county is only catching up with other counties.
Mayor of Clonmel Cllr Pat English (WUAG) said the approval of an affordable housing scheme for Clonmel was very exciting while Clonmel FF Cllr Siobhán Ambrose expressed the hope it will be the first of many such schemes for her hometown.
Independent Newcastle Cllr Máirín McGrath looked forward to the day the affordable homes initiative is expanded to Cahir, Cashel and Tipperary.
Cashel FG Cllr Declan Burgess said he wanted affordable housing extended to his hometown as he knew there was demand for them.
He had friends in other counties who purchased their homes through the scheme, which made home ownership possible for “squeezed” middle- income earners.
And Tipperary Town SF Cllr Annmarie Ryan said every district in the county could do with an affordable housing scheme and requested the Council to engage with the Department to get them rolled out in towns in all the county's districts.