Affordable Housing - advice needed!!

Mental Mickey · 22-01-2007 10:25pm #1

Hi

I am in the process of putting my name on the list for Affordable Housing(which I shoulda done AGES AGO), but I am unsure of which area(s) to apply for(South Dublin & Dublin City Councilare my preferences at present).

My Dad gave me advice saying that I should choose somewhere within 5 miles of where I work(Ballyfermot).

I don't think I will go for the Fingal, Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown areas, cos they're out in d "sticks".

My Sis says that I should have a chat with my Manager to see if I can transfer to another office(I work for FAS).

I hope this thread isn't too confusing?:o

If anyone could PM me with advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

ircoha · 23-01-2007 12:19am

where do u want to live?

Stephen P · 24-01-2007 10:26am

Well Dublin City Council's Affordable Housing system is a lottery type system. A newsletter/preference form is issued every few months with a number of developments on it and it's down to personal preference what areas you'd like to live in. Check out dublincity.ie for info in DCC's Affordable Housing which has a map of what area's DCC have. The last time I heard there was 6000 people on their list.
South Dublin County Council's Affordable Housing system is basically a "first come first served" system. Your place on the list determines when you'll be offered a property. Their area is divided in 2, the Naas Rd. is the dividing line, you can opt for just Lucan, Clondalkin, Palmerstown, Newcastle or the otherside - Tallaght, Saggart etc...(I'm not totally sure what area's). Or opt in for both areas. Last I heard 500 are on SDCC's list.
I'm on the South Dublin County Council's Affordable Housing list since March '06 and opted for Lucan/Clondalkin only, kinda sorry now didn't opt in for anywhere. Check out propertypath.ie for info on SDCC's scheme.

Hope this helps! & Good Luck!!

Mental Mickey · 26-01-2007 10:18pm

I should have the form completed by next week - I faxed it off to the Revenue Commissioners today to get part of it completed.

I've chosen 3 areas:- Lucan, Palmerstown & Chapelizod, cos they're all pretty close to my family(I currently live in Palmerstown).

A friend at work helped me draft a letter to them explaining the situation that I'm in(totally inaccessible house, mother suffering from cancer). I also got letters from my GP & Urologist to support my case.....!

I hope I won't be too long on the list.....?

johnjay · 27-01-2007 10:28am

If you limit yourself to Lucan, Palmerstown & Chapelizod you will be waiting a long time - just ask yourself how many new developments are happening in these areas at the moment? There may be some Affordable Housing in Adamstown in the future, but I wouldnt hold my breath.

I am on the list for SDCC, and I am willing to view any area. Most of SDCC's properties are in either Clondalkin or Tallaght, and the waiting time is about a hear and a half.

Fingal have the shortest waiting list, and not all properties are in "the sticks", for example Fingal in the past have had some affordable properties in Meakstown (Just of the M50 at the Finglas exit). Remember the Fingal area comes close to where you live. Blanchardstown, Clonsilla and Castleknock for example are in Fingal, though I imagine there isnt much development in these areas at the moment.

It might also be worth your while to have a chat with your local Councilor/TD, they might be able to help you out. It is an election year after all!!

Mental Mickey · 27-01-2007 5:00pm

Lucan is expanding all the time too...? There's a new estate opening(or maybe its opened?)called St Edmundsbury, so some Affordable Housing should be available in that development?

Anyways, my application should be in by next week.

johnjay · 27-01-2007 6:13pm

Mental Mickey wrote:

Lucan is expanding all the time too...? There's a new estate opening(or maybe its opened?)called St Edmundsbury, so some Affordable Housing should be available in that development?

Anyways, my application should be in by next week.

Affordable Housing in St Edmundsbury still has to get approval from South Dublin County Council, and looks like it wont happen for a while.

Just dont limit yourself to a small area.

is_that_so · 27-01-2007 6:19pm

The Irish Times Review section has a piece on it today if you want to pick that up. Also Citizen's advice has a section on it.

Mental Mickey · 27-01-2007 9:03pm

I think I'll go ahead with my original choices? I don't fancy going too far afield.....?

Mental Mickey · 27-01-2007 9:42pm

is_that_so wrote:

The Irish Times Review section has a piece on it today if you want to pick that up. Also Citizen's advice has a section on it.

Do you have a link to the Irish Times article? I just had a look on their site, but couldn't find anything?

Mental Mickey · 27-01-2007 10:26pm

johnjay wrote:

Affordable Housing in St Edmundsbury still has to get approval from South Dublin County Council, and looks like it wont happen for a while.

Just dont limit yourself to a small area.

I'm probably looking way too far ahead, cos I have put my name forward for a stint in the Independent Living Training Apartments in the Irish Wheelchair Association in Clontarf.

I have heard that this is a long process(the training), so I'm putting my name on the list to get a start.....?

is_that_so · 28-01-2007 7:16pm

Mental Mickey wrote:

Do you have a link to the Irish Times article? I just had a look on their site, but couldn't find anything?

Sorry about that. It's premium content. :mad:
I was reading the print edition myself.

Mental Mickey · 28-01-2007 10:15pm

is_that_so wrote:

Sorry about that. It's premium content. :mad:
I was reading the print edition myself.

Never mind:) . Is there anyone who is posting on this thread who has a disability and has applied for Affordable Housing?

Do any of the councils give points for the client having a disability? Would it be useful to submit a letter from my doctor explaining that I need proper accommodation along with my application for housing?

Any advice would be welcome......

Mental Mickey · 28-01-2007 10:18pm

stephen p wrote:

Well Dublin City Council's Affordable Housing system is a lottery type system. A newsletter/preference form is issued every few months with a number of developments on it and it's down to personal preference what areas you'd like to live in. Check out dublincity.ie for info in DCC's Affordable Housing which has a map of what area's DCC have. The last time I heard there was 6000 people on their list.
South Dublin County Council's Affordable Housing system is basically a "first come first served" system. Your place on the list determines when you'll be offered a property. Their area is divided in 2, the Naas Rd. is the dividing line, you can opt for just Lucan, Clondalkin, Palmerstown, Newcastle or the otherside - Tallaght, Saggart etc...(I'm not totally sure what area's). Or opt in for both areas. Last I heard 500 are on SDCC's list.
I'm on the South Dublin County Council's Affordable Housing list since March '06 and opted for Lucan/Clondalkin only, kinda sorry now didn't opt in for anywhere. Check out propertypath.ie for info on SDCC's scheme.

Hope this helps! & Good Luck!!

How do you know there are 6000 on one list and 500 on S.D.C.C's list?? Are you privvy to insider information or something?

johnjay · 28-01-2007 11:05pm

Mental Mickey wrote:

Never mind:) . Is there anyone who is posting on this thread who has a disability and has applied for Affordable Housing?

Do any of the councils give points for the client having a disability? Would it be useful to submit a letter from my doctor explaining that I need proper accommodation along with my application for housing?

Any advice would be welcome......

Any froms I have filled in have not asked me if I had a disability, so I dont think the regular Affordable Housing Scheme takes it into consideration. However, as I said earlier in the post, I would strongly advise you to get in touch with your local TD/Councillor, as they would know more about the schemes than any of the rest of us.

johnjay · 28-01-2007 11:12pm

Mental Mickey wrote:

How do you know there are 6000 on one list and 500 on S.D.C.C's list?? Are you privvy to insider information or something?

Its fairly common knowledge, I'm sure its available under the Fredom of Information Act.

Mental Mickey · 28-01-2007 11:51pm

johnjay wrote:

Its fairly common knowledge, I'm sure its available under the Fredom of Information Act.

I never heard of any definite figures of people on waiting lists....

?

Stephen P · 29-01-2007 9:58am

Mental Mickey wrote:

How do you know there are 6000 on one list and 500 on S.D.C.C's list?? Are you privvy to insider information or something?

I read it in an article from the Irish Times or Independant on Affordable Housing a couple of months back.

Edit: Take from the Irish Times Affordable Housing Review last weekend

It's understood that shortly there will
be a further announcement of at least 500
apartments in various locations in Dublin
city that the State has purchased outright
under the Affordable Housing Initiative
in order to cater for some of the 7,200 peo-
ple on the Dublin City Council "panel"
for affordable housing lottery draws.
A word about that "panel": the figure of
7,200 is misleading, as only about half of
those people are realistically eligible be-
cause they could actually earn enough to
get a mortgage.
Dublin City Council uses "self-
verification", which means that it is up to
the applicant to decide if they can
actually afford an affordable house.
The council does ask to see a payslip,
but apart from that it seeks no evidence
that the applicant has actually gone about
securing a mortgage. In some schemes,
half the lottery winners haven't actually
got the house in the end because they
weren't financially viable. So the council
draws twice as many names as it needs,
then contacts them one by one until it fills
every place. For people on the panel who
have mortgages ready to go, the delays
are frustrating.

Mental Mickey · 05-02-2007 10:53pm

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I'm gettin' really p****d off with South Dublin County Council. I have been in regular contact with the Property Path section of S.D.C.C while I've been collecting the various bits of information that they need to go along with the application.

Last week, I was speaking to one of the assistants in relation to the scheme, and I told her that I hadn't(until today)received my P60 for 2006. She told me that my P60 & P21 for 2005 would suffice.

I proceeded to gather this information together and rang the council again today, to check if I needed any further pieces of paperwork.

I told the woman(a different one than last time)that I had been told by her colleague that the P60/P21 for '05 would be okay.

Imagine my disgust/anger when the(second)woman told me that "no, you'll have to wait until you get your P60 for '06, and you also require a P21 for '06 also"!!!!

Now, this may sound like a trivial matter, but can you imagine the bloody hassle of(a) getting a day off, and (b)trying to get a wheelchair accessible taxi to go up to The Square(that's my local tax office)to collect these pieces of information.

It will also mean that I will(probably)have to fill out the bloody application form AGAIN!!!

Do the people who work in these places ever communicate!!??? I got TWO different answers from two people who work in the same bloody office!!???

I think I'd get a place quicker if I went onto Millenium Bridge and begged!!!???:mad:

Okay, rant over.

Stephen P · 05-02-2007 11:01pm

Mental Mickey wrote:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I'm gettin' really p****d off with South Dublin County Council. I have been in regular contact with the Property Path section of S.D.C.C while I've been collecting the various bits of information that they need to go along with the application.

Last week, I was speaking to one of the assistants in relation to the scheme, and I told her that I hadn't(until today)received my P60 for 2006. She told me that my P60 & P21 for 2005 would suffice.

I proceeded to gather this information together and rang the council again today, to check if I needed any further pieces of paperwork.

I told the woman(a different one than last time)that I had been told by her colleague that the P60/P21 for '05 would be okay.

Imagine my disgust/anger when the(second)woman told me that "no, you'll have to wait until you get your P60 for '06, and you also require a P21 for '06 also"!!!!

Now, this may sound like a trivial matter, but can you imagine the bloody hassle of(a) getting a day off, and (b)trying to get a wheelchair accessible taxi to go up to The Square(that's my local tax office)to collect these pieces of information.

It will also mean that I will(probably)have to fill out the bloody application form AGAIN!!!

Do the people who work in these places ever communicate!!??? I got TWO different answers from two people who work in the same bloody office!!???

I think I'd get a place quicker if I went onto Millenium Bridge and begged!!!???:mad:

Okay, rant over.

Almost the same thing happened to myself and my partner roughly 12 months ago. We handed in our documentation in Dec. 05, it was posted back a couple of weeks later saying they needed more documentation that we couldn't get till Jan/Feb 06 and at that stage we had to get P60's/P21's for 2005. At the time it was very VERY frustrating, they're worse than banks for documentation.
All I can say is I know it's very frustrating but stick to it and you'll get a property eventually. We're on the list 10 months now and I think we're about to be offered somewhere, FINALLY!!

I hope its worth the wait...:D

Mental Mickey · 05-02-2007 11:06pm

stephen p wrote:

Almost the same thing happened to myself and my partner roughly 12 months ago. We handed in our documentation in Dec. 05, it was posted back a couple of weeks later saying they needed more documentation that we couldn't get till Jan/Feb 06 and at that stage we had to get P60's/P21's for 2005. At the time it was very VERY frustrating, they're worse than banks for documentation.
All I can say is I know it's very frustrating but stick to it and you'll get a property eventually. We're on the list 10 months now and I think we're about to be offered somewhere, FINALLY!!

I hope its worth the wait...:D

I was talking to a colleague at work today, who told me that when her and her partner where buying a house(neither of them have a disability), some of their documentation "went missing", which meant they had to go get a whole new raft of paperwork to replace the documents that were lost through no fault of her or her partner!!??

She said that they council(s) do this to try put people off!!?? If that's true, it's a s****y way to do business!?:mad:

Mental Mickey · 08-02-2007 10:59pm

My application was sent off to South Dublin County Council today!! FINALLY! I've given 'em all the paperwork they've asked for, so I'll do me nut if they come asking for more....!

If they require additional paperwork to the stuff stated on their form, they should get it updated!

Posy · 10-02-2007 4:30pm

In the meantime just keep buying yourself a few dozen Lotto tickets. :rolleyes:

CherieAmour · 12-02-2007 10:24am

My application was sent off to South Dublin County Council today!! FINALLY! I've given 'em all the paperwork they've asked for, so I'll do me nut if they come asking for more....!

If they require additional paperwork to the stuff stated on their form, they should get it updated!

Best of luck with it!!! I will say though, that you will invariably have to come up with more stuff down along the line. I think you get provisionally approved based on what you have given now, but when you finally get a place, you will have to provide pretty much the same stuff all over again for final approval. (Not the revenue stuff if it's in the same tax year)

I can understand why they do this in a way, they need to assure themselves that nothing has changed since you first applied, and also to work out how much of a loan they're going to give you based on the most up to date information.

I need a home · 16-02-2007 4:13pm

I have recently applied for Affordable Housing in South Dublin and i was wondering were I can get these Newsletters you wrote of in your last post...

Stephen P · 16-02-2007 4:22pm

I need a home wrote:

I have recently applied for Affordable Housing in South Dublin and i was wondering were I can get these Newsletters you wrote of in your last post...

Hi,
South Dublin County Council don't issue newsletters, Dublin City Council do. You get a preference form with it and you tick off which developments you'd be interested in. The reason behind it is because DCC's affordable scheme is a lottery type system. SDCC's scheme is different.

I need a home · 16-02-2007 4:35pm

Mental Mickey wrote:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I'm gettin' really p****d off with South Dublin County Council. I have been in regular contact with the Property Path section of S.D.C.C while I've been collecting the various bits of information that they need to go along with the application.

Last week, I was speaking to one of the assistants in relation to the scheme, and I told her that I hadn't(until today)received my P60 for 2006. She told me that my P60 & P21 for 2005 would suffice.

I proceeded to gather this information together and rang the council again today, to check if I needed any further pieces of paperwork.

I told the woman(a different one than last time)that I had been told by her colleague that the P60/P21 for '05 would be okay.

Imagine my disgust/anger when the(second)woman told me that "no, you'll have to wait until you get your P60 for '06, and you also require a P21 for '06 also"!!!!

Now, this may sound like a trivial matter, but can you imagine the bloody hassle of(a) getting a day off, and (b)trying to get a wheelchair accessible taxi to go up to The Square(that's my local tax office)to collect these pieces of information.

It will also mean that I will(probably)have to fill out the bloody application form AGAIN!!!

Do the people who work in these places ever communicate!!??? I got TWO different answers from two people who work in the same bloody office!!???

I think I'd get a place quicker if I went onto Millenium Bridge and begged!!!???:mad:

Okay, rant over.

Hi
Is it true you need both a P60 & P21, i sent in my application thinking i only needed a P60 or a P21 not both...And if so will i have to fill out another application form..

I need a home · 16-02-2007 4:36pm

stephen p wrote:

Hi,
South Dublin County Council don't issue newsletters, Dublin City Council do. You get a preference form with it and you tick off which developments you'd be interested in. The reason behind it is because DCC's affordable scheme is a lottery type system. SDCC's scheme is different.

Hi,

Thanks for your fast reply...

Stephen P · 16-02-2007 6:00pm

I need a home wrote:

Hi,

Thanks for your fast reply...

No problem at all.
You probably will need to submit a P21. They just might get you to forward it on to them, or be prepared that they might post everything back to you and ask that you include a P21.

Mental Mickey · 16-02-2007 11:33pm

I need a home wrote:

Hi
Is it true you need both a P60 & P21, i sent in my application thinking i only needed a P60 or a P21 not both...And if so will i have to fill out another application form..

Hi.

I was confused about that too....! I rang SDCC and got 2 different replies. One of the Clerical assistants(I think?) told me that I needed both, but a few days later, I rang back and asked to speak to one of their managers, and he told me that I only needed my P60. Just make sure the P60 has 52 weeks on it!! If it hasn't, then you'll need a P21.

Hope this is helpful.

BTW, the guy who I spoke to at SDCC(the manager) was called Eamonn, as far as I can remember.

Mental Mickey · 24-02-2007 10:18pm

Can anyone tell me if there is anything wrong with the South Dublin County Council and Property Path websites, or is it just my s****y computer??? I can't seem to get onto either site....?

I got confirmation of my application today,and wanted to check it online.....?

Affordable Housing - advice needed!!

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