Affordable Purchase Scheme Ireland: How It Works, Eligibility, and Where to Apply

The Affordable Purchase Scheme is designed for buyers who earn enough to be considered ineligible for social housing but not enough to compete in the open market. If that's your situation, this is the scheme worth understanding in detail — because the eligibility rules are more complex than the headline suggests, and the consequences of misreading them can leave you outside the threshold by a slim margin.

What the Scheme Does

The Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme (LAAPS) allows local authorities and the Land Development Agency (LDA) to provide an "Affordable Dwelling Contribution" on newly built properties on council-owned land. This contribution covers between 5% and 40% of the home's open market value, allowing eligible buyers to purchase the property at a discounted price.

In exchange for that discount, the local authority retains an equity share equal to the percentage discount provided. If a home worth €350,000 is sold to you at a 20% discount — €280,000 — the council holds a 20% equity stake in your property.

Unlike the First Home Scheme, the Affordable Purchase Scheme is means-tested. It is specifically targeted at buyers who cannot afford to purchase on the open market without assistance.

How Eligibility Is Assessed: The Purchasing Power Formula

Eligibility is determined by calculating your "purchasing power" — what you could afford to spend on the open market using your income and savings under normal Central Bank rules.

The purchasing power formula takes your gross annual household income, multiplies it by four (the standard LTI limit), and adds your deposit savings (minus the required 10% deposit on the affordable home, minus an additional €30,000 buffer you're permitted to hold).

To qualify, your total purchasing power must be less than 85.5% of the open market value of the affordable home. In other words, you must genuinely be unable to afford the home on the open market before the scheme will help you buy it at a discount.

There's an upper cut-off too. If your purchasing power exceeds 95% of the open market value, you're considered capable of purchasing on the open market and are excluded from the scheme entirely.

This means the scheme has a narrow eligibility band — buyers whose purchasing power sits between roughly 85.5% and 95% of market value. Buyers well below 85.5% may need the Local Authority Home Loan instead. Buyers above 95% are expected to buy without assistance.

The Savings Rule: What Counts Against You

Savings above a certain threshold are added to your purchasing power, which can push you out of eligibility.

You're permitted to hold the 10% deposit for the affordable home plus an additional €30,000 in savings without those savings affecting your assessment. Savings beyond that figure are added directly to your purchasing power calculation.

If those additional savings push your total above 95% of the affordable home's market value, you're ineligible — deemed to have sufficient means to purchase unassisted.

This creates a counterintuitive situation where having saved too much can disqualify you. If you're approaching an application, check the arithmetic carefully before assuming you qualify.

What Income Counts (and What Doesn't)

The scheme uses assessable income over the 12 months preceding your application. Not all income sources are treated the same:

Fully assessable: Basic employment salary, self-employment profits (from audited accounts), occupational pensions, rental income, social welfare pensions.

Partially assessable: Overtime is capped at 10% of basic salary. Annual bonuses are capped at 10% of basic salary. Sales commissions are capped at 30% of basic salary.

Fully non-assessable: Child Benefit, Carer's Allowance (full and half-rate), Domiciliary Care Allowance, HSE Fostering Allowance, student scholarships.

For joint applications, both applicants' assessable income is combined. The result is multiplied by four to get your maximum purchasing power from income.

How the Equity Share Works After Purchase

You own your home. The local authority holds a percentage equity stake equal to the discount you received. No monthly repayments are made on this equity — it's not a loan.

When you eventually sell the property, you repay the council's equity share calculated as a percentage of the sale price at that time — not the original market value. If the home increased in value, the council's share increases proportionately.

You can voluntarily buy out the council's equity share at any time, either in full or in part, based on the current market value of the property. Buyers who can afford to increase their equity over time should do so — it reduces the council's share and increases your own stake.

Most schemes include provisions preventing short-term resale or rental of the property, typically requiring a minimum period of owner-occupation.

How Applications Work and Where to Apply

There is no central national application portal for the Affordable Purchase Scheme. Local authorities run their own portals for specific developments as those developments become available. Applications open and close for each individual scheme.

Active schemes in 2026 include:

Dublin: The LDA and Dublin City Council have ongoing affordable purchase programmes across several developments. Applications are development-specific and open as units become available.

Galway City: Radharc na Tornóige had its application portal open in April 2026, offering newly constructed homes at substantial discounts to local buyers.

Monaghan: The Sean Ghairdíní scheme on Mullinary Street, Carrickmacross, opened for applications in April 2026.

If a development is oversubscribed, the local authority applies a priority scheme. At least 70% of units are allocated based on household size suitability and chronological application order. The remaining 30% can use localized criteria — including giving priority to applicants who live or work within 15 kilometres of the local authority boundary.

Combining with Other Schemes

The Affordable Purchase Scheme is compatible with the Help to Buy (HTB) scheme (since HTB applies to new builds and these are new-build properties). It is compatible with the Local Authority Home Loan.

It is not compatible with the First Home Scheme. If you're considering the Affordable Purchase route, the FHS is not an option on the same property.

To find the right combination for your circumstances, the Ireland First-Time Home Buyer Guide includes a scheme compatibility matrix and a step-by-step eligibility checker for all major Irish housing support programmes.

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