Council Consents and Re-Sales

I Want To Sell My Affordable Home

If you sell your affordable home within 20 years of buying it, you must pay back to the local authority an amount known as the ‘clawback’. This applies whether you have a local authority mortgage or a mortgage with a bank or building society. If you sell your home after 20 years, you do not have to pay any ‘clawback’ to the local authority.

If you are intending to sell your property, you will need to notify the Council in writing. Please include details of your estate agent and the asking price. You will be issued with redemption figures based on the current market value of the property when the above requirements are complied with and when your solicitor confirms the sale price in writing.

How Is The Clawback Calculated?

When you bought your affordable home, you got it at a discount to other similar properties on the market. The clawback is based on the percentage discount you got when you bought your affordable home. If you decide to sell your home, we apply this percentage to the price you get for the sale, depending on the current value of the property.  Depending on the value of your property when you sell it, the calculation of the clawback may vary. You can also read our Living in an Affordable home & Clawback.

Adding a Name To Your Loan

If you are now married, or in a new relationship, and want to add a name to your loan; print out, fill in and send a copy of the  Transfer of Loan – sole to Joint names to our loan accounts section.

Removing a Name From Your Loan

If you are now separated/divorced and want to remove a name from your loan; print out, fill in and send a copy of the  Transfer of Loan – Joint to sole names to our loan accounts section. 

If your loan is the subject of a court order, or a person named on the loan has died, you will also need to send a copy of the court order/death certificate to Land Registry. 

Properties purchased from the Council under the Sales Schemes and Tenant Purchase Schemes 1995 and 2011. 

Consent to re-sale of Tenant Purchase dwellings (Section 90)

Under Section 90 of the Housing Act 1966 the first resale of a former local authority dwelling is subject to the approval of the Housing Authority.  If you bought your home through the Tenant Purchase scheme from Fingal County Council, the consent of the Council is needed if you decide to sell, re-mortgage or transfer your interest in the property. 

How do I apply for consent?

You should apply in writing through your solicitor to the Loan Accounts Section of Fingal County Council. If the property was acquired from the Council more than 25 years ago, the Council will confirm that the terms of Section 90 no longer apply.

Otherwise, if you are selling your property, you must provide evidence of having alternative permanent accommodation both for yourself and any dependants. The buyer must be in need of housing and intend to use the property as their normal place of residence.  

Fee Simple is a legal term that refers to full ownership of a property. There are two types of property ownership that relate to houses sold by Housing Authorities through the various Tenant Purchase Schemes (Sales Schemes) it has operated over the years:

Leasehold Ownership - Houses sold before May 1978

If you purchased your home before May 1978 you became the owner of the leasehold interest. This meant that you did not own, or 'hold full title to', the property but only owned the house and not the land it stood on. You were required to pay an annual ground rent to the Ground Landlord, i.e., the Council, as they still owned the land.

Freehold Ownership - Houses sold after May 1978

If you purchased your home after May 1978 you became the owner of what is known as the freehold interest. This meant that you owned, or 'held title to', the property in its entirety. You owned both the house and the land it stood on. There was no Ground Rent payable.

How do I buy out my Ground Rent from Fingal County Council?

• Contact the Loan Accounts Section, Housing Department, Fingal County Council, Grove Road, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15
• The Council’s Law Department will confirm whether or not Fingal County Council is the Ground Landlord of the property in question and the applicant(s) is the registered owners.
• The cost of purchasing the fee simple is calculated. This is based on the Annual Ground Rent for the property multiplied by a Government Yield multiplier. An additional €130 Property Registration Authority (Land Registry) fee is added.
• On confirmation of Chief Executive’s approval the matter is sent before Council Members for approval.
• When Council approval has been noted in the Minutes of the County Council the applicant(s) will be written to and requested to pay the fee.
• When the payment has been received a new Transfer Order will be prepared by the Council’s Law Department with reference to the ground rent deleted. This new Transfer Order will be sealed by the Council and returned to the applicant(s). The new Transfer Order should be lodged in the Land Registry.

Complete the Application for Consent TransOwnership and send us a letter outlining the details of the proposed transfer of ownership. If the transfer would result in the owner residing elsewhere details of the nature of this alternative accommodation is required. 

The Nursing Homes Support Scheme, also known as the “Fair Deal” scheme is a scheme of financial support for people who need long term residential care services.   

Where Fingal County Council has an interest in a relevant property, a letter from the Health Service Executive (HSE) requesting the consent of Fingal County Council will be required. The letter should be sent to the address below: