The rules all four share
You must be over 18, a first-time buyer or a Fresh Start applicant, with the right to live indefinitely in Ireland, and the home must be where you live. Four times your gross household income must be under 85.5% of the home’s market value. You need a 10% deposit; savings beyond the deposit and a further €30,000 are added to your purchasing power, which must stay under 95% of market value. The council’s share is at least 5% and at most 40%, you can buy it back in payments of at least €10,000, and it must be repaid if you sell or after 40 years.
When there are more eligible applicants than homes, each council’s Scheme of Priority decides. Citizens Information explains the frame: at least 70% of homes go by household size and the date and time of application, and the remaining 30% can use extra criteria the council chooses, such as living locally. Dublin City, Fingal and South Dublin give households of two or more priority for three-beds and three or more for four-beds; DLR says the home must suit the household. The local shares differ:
| Council | Local residents | Everyone else |
|---|---|---|
| Dublin City | 30% by lottery among people resident in the DCC area for at least 3 continuous years | 70% first come, first served |
| Fingal | No local residency share stated on its page | First come, first served |
| South Dublin | At least 30% for people resident in the SDCC area for at least 5 years | Date and time order |
| Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown | 30% by lottery among people resident in DLR for at least 8 years | 70% first come, first served |
First come, first served means the opening minute matters. Have your mortgage approval in principle and documents scanned before the portal opens.
Dublin City Council
DCC sells starter homes across the city and advertises them on its website, social media and in newspapers at least two weeks before the application portal opens. The portal then stays open for three weeks. Register an account on the DCC starter home portal in advance (it uses your Citizen Hub login), because every document has to go in with the application or it can be ruled invalid.
The current release is the final one at Oscar Traynor Woods in Coolock, Dublin 17: 95 apartments (28 one-beds, 48 two-beds, 19 three-beds) at an average 22% below market value, ready in 2027. Applications run from 12 noon on 23 September to 12 noon on 14 October 2026. One-beds cost €251,000 to €318,000 for single or combined salaries of €56,000 to €71,000; two-beds €299,000 to €380,000 for €67,000 to €85,000; three-beds €340,000 to €413,000 for €76,000 to €93,000.
Fingal County Council
Fingal says it is at the forefront of affordable home delivery in the country. It completed its 1,000th sale in June 2026, five years after its first scheme at Dun Emer in Lusk, and says more than 3,000 more are planned by 2030. Its schemes so far are in the north county and Dublin 15: Donabate, Swords, Lusk, Rush, Skerries, Balbriggan and Mulhuddart among them.
Fingal advertises on its website, its social media and in local or national newspapers. You register on the portal on opening day and apply there with your documents. Its Scheme of Priority, approved in June 2022, ranks eligible applications by time and date submitted, with household-size priority for three and four-beds; unlike the other three councils, its page states no share set aside for local residents.
South Dublin County Council
SDCC’s schemes are in Clonburris, Kilcarbery Grange in Clondalkin, Killinarden and Saggart, among others. Documents are uploaded with the application on its online portal. SDCC reserves at least 30% of homes for people who are or have been resident in the county for five years or more, and ranks the rest by date and time. If you want to hear about new schemes from the council, email affordablehousing@sdublincoco.ie and ask to be added to its general mailing list.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council
DLR’s latest scheme was 40 one-bed apartments at St. Laurence’s Park in Stillorgan, from €255,000, with its portal open from 12 August to 2 September 2026. It puts its equity share at 10% to 40%. DLR advertises on its website, social media and newspapers, and it ran drop-in information sessions before the Stillorgan portal opened. Its local rule is the strictest of the four: 30% of homes go by lottery to applicants who have lived in DLR for at least eight years. Questions go to afford@dlrcoco.ie or 01 205 4700.
Renting instead: cost rental in Dublin
Cost rental is the rented side of the same programme. In Dublin you qualify with net household income of €66,000 or less, rent at no more than about 35% of it, no property and no social housing support. Most Dublin cost rental comes from housing bodies and the LDA rather than the councils: Tuath, the LDA, Respond, Clúid, Circle and Oaklee. 1 Dublin cost rental listings were open or announced at the last update. Every scheme so far, past rents included, is on the Dublin page.