Home Improvement Loan
Local authority loans are available to owner-occupiers towards the cost of necessary works to improve, repair or extend their existing houses. These loans are only available from some local authorities, so you should contact Mayo County Council to check whether the scheme operates in your area.
Rules
You may be eligible for a local authority home improvement loan if you can show the local authority that you cannot get a loan from a bank or building society and:
- Your house needs to be improved, repaired or extended due to overcrowding and your income satisfies the income test below, or
- You are registered on a housing waiting list with a local authority, or
- You are a local authority tenant or a tenant purchaser and you want to buy a private house and return your present house to the local authority, or
- You are a tenant for more than one year of a home provided by a housing association under the Rental Subsidy Scheme and you want to buy a private house and return your present house to the local authority.
Note that the income test only applies to the first category above. If you are covered by the second, third or fourth category you are exempt from the income test.
The Income Test
- Single-income household: If your gross income before tax in the last income tax year was €40,000 or less, you are eligible.
- Two-income households: Multiply the gross income (before tax) of the higher earner in the last income tax year by 2.5 and add the gross income of the other earner in the last income tax year. If the answer is €100,000 or less, you are eligible.
Rates
The maximum improvement loans are:
- €38,000 where the loan is secured by a mortgage on the house (or €50,000 on offshore islands) - or
- €15,000 where the loan is not secured by a mortgage on the house
A variable interest rate applies on these loans.
The Local Authority Home Loan application form can be downloaded here