Council suspends affordable housing scheme

FIRST-TIME buyers seeking to buy homes through Dublin City Council's affordable housing scheme have less than a week to apply to the council before it stops accepting applications for eight months.

The council said it cannot accept new applicants because of a backlog of more than 8,000 applicants waiting for housing.

About 500 houses are made available through the scheme each year and many applicants are waiting on the list for more than three years before they are made an offer, the council said.

The council's housing department said it has been forced to close down the affordable housing list from April 21st and will not reopen it until December 31st because it cannot cope with the volume of applications.

It said it also requires the eight-month hiatus to transfer all its files to a computer-based system. Currently applications are made and stored on paper.

The affordable housing scheme allows buyers who do not have the income to meet a standard mortgage to buy a house at a reduced price, with the local authority making up the difference in cost. The local authority retains ownership of a portion of the property for 20 years, after which it is transferred fully to the home owner.

The current panel of 8,313 applicants is being reviewed to assess whether there are applicants no longer eligible for affordable housing or who no longer wish to buy houses through the scheme because of changed circumstances.

The council has written to all applicants on the list to ask if they still wish to be considered for affordable housing. Those who remain on the list will then be assessed to ensure they still qualify for housing.

Sinn Féin councillor and member of the council's housing committee Christy Burke said he accepted there was a "logjam" in the system, but he said it was unfair to exclude those in need of housing for such an extended period.

"Whether the officials like it or not, there is a housing crisis and to close down the only hope that many people have of getting a home is sending out the wrong message," he added.

The timing of the closure was particularly unfortunate, Mr Burke said as the recent fall in house prices might encourage people who previously felt they could not afford to buy, even through the affordable system, to get on the property ladder. The housing market could have become more competitive by the time the list is reopened.

Fianna Fáil councillor Eibhlin Byrne said the council did not want to exclude anyone from the process but the closure of the list would give those who had been waiting years a better chance of securing a home.

"There would always be concern in relation to people who need housing not getting an opportunity, but for people who have been on the list for a considerable length of time it will give them a better run on it. After the transfer to an IT-based system, the system will be more transparent, more efficient and that will only benefit every one seeking affordable housing," she said.