Low Cost Housing Sites

• individually, with the help, if necessary, of the other social housing measures including shared ownership, Sligo Borough Council house purchase loans, mortgage allowance, etc.;or
• collectively, through the voluntary housing schemes, special group shared ownership housing projects or housing co-operatives.

Do I qualify?

If you are:

• a person whose application for Sligo Borough Council housing has been approved by the Sligo Borough Council, or
• a Sligo Borough Council tenant or tenant purchaser who wishes to buy a private house and to return your present house to the Sligo Borough Council, or
• a tenant for 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,
• a member of a co-operative or non-profit housing group of which at least 75% of the members are either tenants/tenant purchasers or persons whose applications for Sligo Borough Council housing have been approved by the Sligo Borough Council, or
• a person availing of a group shared ownership project sponsored by Sligo Borough Council or a housing co-operative,

you may be able to avail of the low cost sites scheme to obtain a site for the building of a new house.

What is the cost of a site?

The Sligo Borough Council will decide the cost depending on a number of factors, such as the location of the site and the income and personal circumstances of the applicant. The cost may be as low as £100 (€127).

How do I fund my building costs?

The cost of building your house may be met through a conventional mortgage from a bank, building society or Sligo Borough Council or by means of Shared Ownership. Other measures, which help meet the costs, include the new house grant.

What is a group shared ownership project?

Local authorities or housing co-operatives may sponsor housing schemes specifically for persons who wish to avail of Shared Ownership. In such cases, low cost sites can be made available by the Sligo Borough Council in respect of each house in the scheme whether or not the prospective shared owner qualifies on an individual basis for the low cost housing sites scheme.

Extra help for "hard to develop" sites

If the sites sold by the Sligo Borough Council to either individuals or groups require costly, specialised development works to enable the construction of a house (for instance, special foundations, demolition/clearance, exceptional costs, relating to the provision of water and sewerage services etc.) the Sligo Borough Council may make a financial contribution towards the cost of such works.

Other Options which may be of interest

The low cost sites scheme is specifically intended to be used in conjunction with other housing schemes. The following options are available.

For individuals

• Shared Ownership Scheme
• Affordable Housing Scheme
• Mortgage Allowance Scheme
• £3,000 (€3,809) new house grant

For voluntary housing bodies

• Voluntary Housing Capital Assistance Scheme
• Voluntary Housing Rental Subsidy Scheme

Can I resell my house?

You may sell your house at any time.

However, where a site was originally provided under the low cost sites scheme by the Sligo Borough Council at a discount from market value you must refund to the Sligo Borough Council a % of the proceeds from the sale of your property. The % of the proceeds to be repaid will be equal to the % discount originally received from the Sligo Borough Council. A full refund must be paid if you sell in the first ten years of occupancy. A reduction of 10% per annum is given for each full year of occupancy between 10 and 20 years. After 20 years of full occupancy no refund would be due to the Sligo Borough Council on the resale of the property.

Housing Co-ops

If you think that the sites scheme (with or without the other options available) provides an opportunity to promote a co-operative or voluntary housing project in your area, you should, in the first instance, contact Sligo Borough Council. They will advise and assist you in every way possible and put you in contact with other agencies, such as the Irish Council for Social Housing, the representative body of the voluntary housing movement, or NABCo, the National Association of Building Co-operatives. Alternatively, you can contact these agencies directly at 50 Merrion Square East, Dublin 2 (phone 01-661 8334 or 661 2877).