Survey on affordable housing launched by Roscommon County Council
A survey seeking expressions of interest for those who may wish to acquire affordable housing has been launched by Roscommon County Council.
A survey seeking expressions of interest for those who may wish to acquire affordable housing has been launched by Roscommon County Council. Access to the survey is available on Surveys | Roscommon County Council's Consultation Portal.
The council is undertaking the survey to determine demand from members of the public who feel they may be eligible to acquire an affordable home with a particular focus on affordable housing in Castlerea Town, Roscommon Town and Monksland areas.
The council is advising that completion of the assessment does not imply eligibility or convey approval for any future affordable housing scheme and is not an application process for housing.
The local authority will use the information gathered to inform targeted development of future affordable housing schemes in these areas, which will be advertised through the council’s media channels when the houses are made available to purchase.
The initiative is a provisional survey only, for the purpose of determining potential levels of interest in demand for affordable housing.
Members of the public who feel they potentially qualify for such support are actively encouraged to complete a short survey on the council’s website, which should take no more than four minutes to complete. The survey will be open until April 30th.
When completing the survey, applicants will be asked to confirm their interest in acquiring an affordable home, the type of home they would be interested in; their income and if the potential occupants are single people or a family, stating the family size.
Survey respondents will also be asked to confirm their preferred choice of location by choosing between Castlerea Town, Roscommon Town or Monksland, their income and how much they can afford to spend on their potential property. The local authority will be particularly targeting applicants who are mortgage ready /approved (first time buyers / new start).
If the applicant is applying for the Local Authority home loan, the current Local Authority Home Loan gross income limits of €75,000 for single applicants or €85,000 for joint applicants apply. This eligibility criteria may change from time to time. Information is available on www.localauthorityhomeloan.ie.Fresh Start Applicant refers to the fresh start principle in “Housing for All” in other words an applicant who is divorced or separated that has no interest in the family home, or who has undergone insolvency proceedings is eligible to apply.
The survey is for the purpose of gathering information and determining potential levels of interest on a geographic basis. There will be no follow up correspondence to submissions after the survey is complete.
Senior Executive Officer with Roscommon County Council Ann McHugh said the decision to extend the local authority’s housing portfolio was a direct response to the council’s determination to meet increased housing demand for lower to middle income families in in the county.
“As a local authority we are committed to meeting our housing targets by providing provide a range of housing that is affordable and meets the needs of all our citizens. We are experiencing strong demand for social and affordable housing and we know this from people on lower to middle incomes in terms of buying their own home.
“This essentially means the council in partnership with a developer can build homes and offer them at a discounted rate to families who meet the scheme criteria, and the council retains an equity share over a period.
“Our commitment to providing new and modern efficient homes follows the completion of new housing developments in Monksland, Roscommon Town and Elphin in the past year,” Ms McHugh concluded.
