Who can get one
All of these have to be true for every applicant:
- First-time buyer, or a Fresh Start applicant: divorced, separated or out of a relationship with no financial interest in the former home, or through personal insolvency or bankruptcy. Owning a home you inherited does not count against you.
- Aged 18 to 70.
- Gross income of no more than €80,000 as a single applicant or €85,000 combined as joint applicants, based on income reported for tax in the previous tax year.
- Two years of continuous employment for a single applicant or the main earner, one year for a second earner. PAYE, contract or self-employed all count; a break of more than four weeks resets the clock. Self-employed applicants need two years of certified accounts.
- Two insufficient offers from regulated lenders (more on this below).
- A 12-month savings record right before you apply, and a clean credit record. The council checks the Central Credit Register.
- A right to reside in the State, and you will live in the home.
Couples cannot split the application. If you are married, in a civil partnership or in a committed relationship, you apply together.
How much you can borrow, county by county
The loan is capped at 90% of the market value, and the home itself has to be at or under the price cap for its county. These are the caps in force since 1 April 2026:
| Price cap | Most you can borrow | Deposit at the cap (10%) | Counties |
|---|---|---|---|
| €415,000 | €373,500 | €41,500 | Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow |
| €375,000 | €337,500 | €37,500 | Cork, Galway City, Meath |
| €345,000 | €310,500 | €34,500 | Clare, Galway County, Kilkenny, Limerick, Louth, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford |
| €310,000 | €279,000 | €31,000 | Carlow, Cavan, Donegal, Kerry, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary |
On top of the cap the council works out what you can repay, so a lower income gets a lower offer. A home that costs more than the cap in its county is out, even if you could pay the difference yourself.
The rate and what the repayments look like
There are two products, both fixed for the full term: 4.00% for terms up to 25 years (APR 4.07%) and 4.05% for terms over 25 and up to 30 years (APR 4.13%). The longest term is 30 years and it ends at the oldest applicant’s 70th birthday, so a 45-year-old gets 25 years at most.
| Loan | 25 years at 4.00% | 30 years at 4.05% |
|---|---|---|
| €373,500 | €1,971 a month | €1,794 a month |
| €337,500 | €1,781 a month | €1,621 a month |
| €310,500 | €1,639 a month | €1,491 a month |
| €279,000 | €1,473 a month | €1,340 a month |
Our arithmetic on the published rates, before mortgage protection insurance. You have to join the local authority group insurance scheme and pay it monthly on top. Because the rate is fixed for the whole loan, paying off early can bring a breakage charge.
The deposit: 3% saved by you, the rest can be a gift
You need at least 10% of the market value. At least 3% has to be your own savings, built up over the 12 months before you apply and shown on bank statements. The other 7% can come from any source that is not another loan, usually a gift from family. On a €415,000 home that is €41,500 in total: €12,450 of your savings and up to €29,050 gifted. The person giving the gift signs a letter saying it is not repayable and gives them no share in the home.
Help to Buy can go towards the deposit if you are buying or self-building a new home. See the Help to Buy guide for how the refund is paid.
The two bank refusals
This is the part people get wrong. The council lends only when the banks will not lend enough, so you have to show it. You need proof of an insufficient offer from two regulated lenders in Ireland, dated within 12 months of the application, for an amount equal to or less than what you ask the council for. Any of these works:
- a lender’s letter showing what you asked for and what it offered;
- a lender’s letter saying you are outside its lending criteria;
- a printout from a lender’s online calculator showing you cannot borrow the amount;
- a broker’s letter confirming two lenders would not lend enough, with the screenshots or printouts of the attempts.
If a bank offers the full amount you need, you do not qualify. That is the design.
What you can buy with it
A new or second-hand home, or a self-build, anywhere in the State and under the county cap. It also covers homes bought through State schemes: the council Tenant Purchase Scheme and the Starter Homes Programme, which includes the affordable purchase homes councils and the LDA advertise on the Housing Agency portal. The one exception is the First Home Scheme: you cannot combine the two.
That makes it the usual partner for a starter home. Councils sell those homes at a discount and keep an equity share; when a bank will not lend the rest, this loan can. The affordable purchase calculator shows whether a given home is within your income range in the first place.
If your landlord is selling
There is a faster track for tenants who have a notice of termination and want to buy, either the home they rent now or another one. Tell the council when you apply. If you are buying with a bank mortgage instead, the First Home Scheme has a Tenant Home Purchase product for the same situation (the two cannot be combined). If buying is not possible, the tenant in situ schemes are the other route: the State buys the home and you stay as a tenant.
How to apply
- Check the limits above: income, price cap for the county, two years in work, 12 months of savings.
- Get the two refusals from regulated lenders, dated within 12 months.
- Gather the documents on the scheme’s checklist for applicants: proof of income (payslips, or certified accounts if self-employed), bank statements showing the 12-month savings record, and the gift letter if part of the deposit is a gift.
- Fill in the application form from localauthorityhomeloan.ie. Every applicant signs it.
- Submit it to the council for the area where you are buying, in person or by post. Ring first: each council has its own way of taking them.
- Credit committee. The council assesses eligibility and creditworthiness and writes to you. Approval comes as an Approval in Principle letter. A refusal letter gives the reasons, and each council has an appeals process limited to those reasons.
When it is the wrong loan
If you have not found a home under the cap, or you earn over the limit, this loan is not for you. Renting long term at a fixed, lower rent is the other State route: cost rental has a net income limit of €66,000 in Dublin and €59,000 elsewhere, and the eligibility calculator turns your gross pay into that net figure. A single PAYE earner only reaches the Dublin net limit at about €103,000 gross (€89,000 elsewhere), so earning too much for this loan can still leave you inside cost rental.
Sources
- Local Authority Home Loan: Am I eligible?
- Local Authority Home Loan: How much can I borrow? (price caps and maximum loans from 1 April 2026)
- Local Authority Home Loan: Interest rates
- Local Authority Home Loan: Key features (bank refusals, savings record, employment)
- Local Authority Home Loan: FAQ (term, deposit, Help to Buy, First Home Scheme)
- Local Authority Home Loan: How do I apply?