What is involved in Shared Ownership?

This offers home ownership in a number of steps to those who cannot afford full ownership in one step. You may apply to Waterford County Council if you are: 

• In need of housing and you can satisfy the income test
• A person who has been approved for local authority housing, you do not need to satisfy the income test.
• A tenant or tenant purchaser who wishes to buy a private house and return your present house to the local authority, you do not need to satisfy the income test.
• A tenant of more than one year of a house provided by a voluntary body under the Rental Subsidy Scheme who wishes to buy a private house and return your present house to the voluntary body, you do not need to satisfy the income test.

From the start of the agreement

You must buy at least 60% of the value of the house and rent the remaining (40% or less) from Waterford County Council. To pay for the proportion you are purchasing you may consider a mortgage loan or use cash of your own. You must pay a deposit of €1,270 which may be waived in certain circumstances. It is usual to buy the remainder of the house in a series of later stages, but within 25 years.

Regular outgoings

Will be made up of the repayments on your mortgage plus a rent payable on the share of the property owned by the local authority. There may be subsidies you are entitled to which will reduce the total sum.

The rent is calculated at

4.3% of the cost of the rented share and is adjusted each year for inflation. The housing section at the Civic offices can help you work out sample costs.

Stamp duty

There is no stamp duty payable on houses acquired under shared ownership. Some legal costs will be payable by the applicant, every effort will be made by the local authority to keep these to a minimum.

Shared ownership subsidies

The following table shows what subsidies are available for shared ownership agreements that began on or after 1st January 2000. The subsidies are payable so long as they do not reduce the rent payable below €1.27 per week.

Subsidies Dependant on Household Income

Household Income Per Annum	Subsidy payable per Annum
€13,000 and under	€2,550
€13,001 to €15,500	€2,300
€15,001 to €18,000	€2,050
€18,001 to €20,500	€1,800
€20,501 to €23,000	€1,550
€23,001 to €25,500	€1,300
€25,501 to €28,000	€1,050

 

Low cost site

You may be eligible for a low cost site under certain conditions and those eligible below must be willing to buy a private house and return their present one to the local authority:

• A tenant or tenant purchaser
• A tenant of more than one year of a house provided by a voluntary body under the Rental Subsidy Scheme.

Reselling your house

You can resell your house at any time. Any proportion of the house still in the ownership of the local authority would need to be paid for. If there was a discount from market value when the house was bought under the shared ownership scheme, this and the length of time before the house was resold will need to be calculated to produce a sum repayable to the local authority. The housing department will be able to help you with this calculation.