'Discriminates against single people': Readers share their experiences of govt housing schemes

File photo

OVER THE LAST number of years, the government has introduced a number of schemes to get more people into homes.

The age of the average first time buyer is now higher than ever at 35 years old and with house prices on a steady incline, many people feel locked out of homeownership.

At the same time, a chronic shortage of housing has pushed rents upwards leaving many renters in a position where they struggle to save enough for a deposit.

Government initiatives aimed at tackling the housing crisis range from schemes targeted at first-time buyers, like Help to Buy (HTB) and the First Home shared equity scheme (FHS), to schemes targeted at renters like Cost Rental and Housing Assistance Payments (HAP).

Local Authorities are also taking an increased role in home provision with Local Authority Home Loans, which aim to support borrowers who don’t meet the lending criteria of banks.

But these schemes are not without criticism, with Sinn Féin pledging to scrap both the First Home Scheme and Help to Buy if they get into government.

We asked readers what their experience of these schemes were and received a variety of responses. It’s worth noting however, that unlike many of the Your Stories we have done in the past, most of the responses we received were positive.

In particular, many reported a good experience of Help to Buy, but other schemes received more of a mixed response.

And generally speaking, single people in particular reported feeling forgotten and left out of government supports.

‘We were worried we would be priced out’ – Anonymous, Female (28), Donegal

One reader told us that she and her partner bought their home in summer 2023 using the Help to Buy scheme.

“We had the guts of a deposit saved but needed a few extra months to get the full amount saved and with house prices climbing, we were worried that we’d soon be priced out of the market.

“We qualified for the full amount and because our house deposit was under €30k, the Help to Buy scheme paid our full deposit. It was very straightforward to apply through the Revenue website.

“We just got a code and gave it to our builder and that was basically that. It meant the deposit we saved could be used for furniture and decoration of our new home. I hope the scheme is expanded to include second-hand homes too, so it becomes accessible to everyone,” the reader told us.

‘Couldn’t have bought without it’ – Ruth

Another reader also shared her and her partner’s positive experience of using Help to Buy last year.

“I couldn’t speak higher of it,” Ruth told us.

“It is advised to apply way ahead of time as the application is valid whenever you’re ready to purchase.

“We got approved for the full €30k and that was the majority of our deposit paid for.

“Brilliant scheme. But would be great if it could be used for secondhand homes.

We couldn’t have bought without it.”

‘We got a cheaper second hand home closer to Dublin’ – Anonymous, Female (24), Naas

This reader told us that she and her partner wanted to use Help to Buy but because she didn’t work in 2020 due to the pandemic they couldn’t submit an application as she had no statement of liability for one of the previous four years.

She said they found it “very difficult” to contact Revenue to resolve the issue.

“We also wanted to use the First Home scheme to bridge the gap but you had to get one of the first phases in a scheme usually to get a three-bed in it before the price went over the ceiling,” the reader said.

“Lot of people don’t know that the amount you pay back increases if your house value goes up either,” she added.

“Both [these] reasons and horror stories we heard and saw about new builds put us off and we thankfully got a decent second-hand closer to Dublin then the new builds for cheaper.”

‘Apply as early as possible’ – Dorian, 42, Co. Louth

Dorian was another reader who successfully used Help to Buy and was very happy with the end result.

“Things to consider: try to apply for it as early as possible, for example the beginning of the year, because it takes a few good weeks until you have the request processed.

“The second stage though, of having the developer accessing the HTB funds can be a bit tricky, and if no one with prior experience is sharing some tips, it can be difficult to navigate and complete the process,” they said.

“I will however mention the communication from Revenue is very good, and keeping you informed of any progress or additional details needed quickly.”

Local Authority Affordable Housing

Other readers got in touch to tell us about their experience of using local authority affordable housing schemes.

These schemes involve the local authority taking a 20% stake in your home in order to reduce what the buyer pays by 20%.

The buyer must buy back the local authority’s stake after 40 years or if they sell the home.

Róisín (42), Dublin

This reader bought their home under a previous iteration of this scheme that was discontinued in 2011. Under this scheme, the homeowner would have to pay the local authority a percentage of the proceeds if they sold the home within 20 years.

“I bought my one bedroom apartment in Dublin in 2008 at the age of 26, using Affordable Housing, I’m still so grateful and thankful for this when I look at the problems young people have nowadays. I’m still living in it, I’m near my family and friends in a safe area, great neighbours and it’s a lovely cosy home.

“I have since tried to sell my apartment as I wanted a balcony which I don’t have and have had a buyer, but I would have had to pay €23,000 back to the council as I’ve four years left of the 20 year clawback the council has if you try and sell within 20 years. So I’m staying put for now. The council did tell me over the phone I would have next or nothing to pay back, but that wasn’t the case.

“No other problems, and I’m delighted to have it.”

Anonymous, South Dublin

This reader recently purchased a property in South Dublin with their partner under the existing affordable housing scheme.

While they are now grateful to have a place to call home, they found their bank, the local authority and the developer made the process difficult.

The reader bought the property off the plans and a digital walkthrough, but on the actual walk through later in the process they realised it was sold with features that were not disclosed when they placed their deposit.

“When we raised this with the estate agents and representatives from the scheme we were essentially told take it or leave it as other applicants would be happy to take the property. As we were a family of four living in a two bedroom apartment we had to move quick so decided to go ahead with the purchase,” the reader said.

On top of this, they also felt like their bank, one of the approved lenders under the scheme over promised and underdelivered and as a result they faced delays with their purchase.

The reader felt these delays stemmed from “complete incompetence” of the bank staff who on one occasion misspelled the property address and on other occasions forgot to upload documents to the underwriter which led to delays.

“During this time there were several rate increases on our application due to time wasting on their behalf,” the reader said.

“During this time the estate agent selling the property on behalf of the developer was constantly calling looking for updates from me which I could not give as [the bank] could sometimes take over a week to come back with a reply. Eventually the calls turned to threats of the property being offered to an other party, this was coming from both the estate agent and council representative.

“The day we received our keys my partner was met at the property by a builder. No estate agent handover just the builder with a handover book. Having emptied our life savings into our first home I would expect even an email saying congratulations or even thank you for the business. Having previously worked in the property industry I would meet my buyers either in the estate agents office or at the property and handed over their keys with a card and a bottle of champagne.

“As mentioned we are grateful we now have somewhere to call our home but I would recommend you think twice about any council schemes. If you are willing to deal with the stress, threats and incompetence of Ireland’s banking sector of course go for it.

“At the end you do have a place to call your home so looking back at the hell myself and my partner were put through it was worth it but I would never do it again,” the reader said.

Older schemes

Solo borrower – Steven

This reader, a widow, shared his experience of using the Rebuilding Ireland Scheme, which has now been replaced by the Local Authority Home Loan scheme. Both were designed to help buyers who found it difficult to access traditional lending through banks.

“I purchased my first home through the Rebuilding Ireland scheme launched in February 2018. It launched at the perfect time for me as the year before I was attempting to get a regular mortgage with my wife however, she passed away before completing the process,” the reader told us.

Steven explained that as a solo applicant he wouldn’t have been able to borrow enough for a home in the area he wanted through a bank.

“The scheme opened this up with a five and a half times salary range [for borrowing] and unlike a bank I could use my widower’s pension as an extra form of income to support my application,” he said.

‘I only needed a €1,000 deposit’ – Mark, Dublin

“I used a scheme offered by Dublin City Council. At the time (2003) I would have needed roughly €30,000 for a deposit on a home.

“I only needed a €1,000 deposit for the scheme.

“I then bought half the house (a bungalow in Brabazon Square in Dublin 8) and rented the other half for a year with the option to meet the criteria for a full mortgage after 12 months, which I availed of.

“I got on to the property ladder thanks to DCC.”

‘Never got a bean’ – Gary, Wicklow

Another reader, who also bought before the 2008 Recession said simply:

“I bought my house in Wicklow in 2002, never got a bean from the government.”

No joy

While many found success with the government schemes, other readers reported less positive experiences.

‘Government schemes felt completely irrelevant’ – Anonymous, Female (35), Dublin

“My partner and I bought our home in Dublin in 2022. We looked into Help to Buy at the time, but at our budget the idea of buying a new build anywhere we actually wanted to live was laughable.

We would have had to lock ourselves into long car commutes instead of being able to rely on public transport, and would have been far from family and friends.

“We ended up buying a small old house in the suburbs without using any state supports. Government schemes felt completely irrelevant to us and designed to lock us into lifestyles we never wanted.”

‘Discriminates against single people’ – Anonymous (36) , East Cork

This reader told us of their difficulties trying to access Help to Buy as a single person undertaking a self build.

“I seem to be in a conundrum with the Government Help to Buy scheme. I wonder are other single first-time buyers who plan to self-build in the same situation?

“I own an acre of land and I plan to build my first home there (a small two bedroom single story house in east Cork).

“I have been approved for the Help to Buy scheme which requires a loan to value ratio of 70% or greater. Because of this restriction I won’t be able to avail of the scheme,” the said.

“The maximum amount I can borrow from the bank based on my salary is €180k. The build will cost €315k – this is the lowest quote I could get from a builder. So I’m way off the 70% loan to value ratio, particularly when you factor in the site value.

“If I was a couple and had twice the borrowing capacity I would meet the criteria and be able to use the scheme. I feel the 70% clause almost discriminates against single people, I can’t borrow as much as a couple and therefore can’t avail of the scheme that is supposed to help first time buyers and self builds like me.

“I’m yet to find a single person doing a self build who has been able to use the scheme. In fact I really could do with the money. I’m making up the difference with savings I’ve built up over the past 10 years and a loan from a family member.”

“I feel the Help to Buy is flawed,” they added.

‘Local Authority Home Loan was completely restrictive’ – Jen (37), Dublin

“Myself and my husband bought a house in September 2022 through the Local Authority Home Loan scheme which we were grateful to qualify for, but it was also completely restrictive.

“We applied under Fingal County Council and trying to find a house in the Fingal area for €320k was difficult in 2022, to say the least. We were not looking for new builds or spectacularly big houses, but some of what we viewed were borderline [un]inhabitable. It wasn’t until we bought our house that they increased the limit.

“It also wasn’t overly clear that there was a limit, meaning we lost out on a house we loved. We had a family member who was going to help us make up the difference but this was not allowed under the scheme.

“I emailed Fingal months ago to query certain things (can we switch mortgages, can we overpay etc.) and have yet to receive responses on most of the questions which is far from ideal.

In that sense, a bank mortgage would have been more straightforward.

“One major positive is that we have a 3% fixed rate for the 30 years which is really decent these days.”

Renters

‘Cost rental is a lottery’ – Anonymous, male (36), Limerick

“I applied for cost rental in Limerick. The experience wasn’t great, as we have two young children and the housing being offered was three bed, which we would have loved. When applying, it was stated that three beds would only be applicable for families with three children, so we could not apply. I spoke to the Voluntary Housing Association (VHA) who were lovely and they advised we could still apply as our circumstances may change before the houses are made available.

“The system is a lottery, in that names are drawn at random for the housing. So it’s just luck, whether you’re picked or not. Also, there is no future option to buy, which makes it less appealing as I would not want to rent forever. Having applied, I never received any correspondence from them.”

‘We would have been homeless’ – Reece HAP

“Me and my partner were in receipt of the HAP payment. Our original rent was supposed to be €1624 but due to HAP we paid €86 a week.

“We were on HAP for 4 years, and scraped every penny we had together and managed to buy our own property in August of 2023.

“Without the help of HAP we would’ve been homeless and never able to afford our own property. Not to mention we also had a lovely landlord who was nothing but lovely to us. Overall we were one of the very fortunate ones.”

Some quotes have been edited for clarity and brevity.