Buying or renting more cheaply in Northern Ireland

For shared ownership, where you buy part of a home and rent the rest, see our guide to Co-Ownership.

Buy your Housing Executive home at a discount

Under the House Sales Scheme, eligible tenants of the Housing Executive have the right to buy their homes at a discount. You may be eligible if you've been a secure tenant with the Housing Executive for at least five years. If your tenancy hasn't run for five full years, you might still be able to buy if your partner or parent was previously the tenant.

A secure tenant with a minimum five years, receives 20 per cent discount of the market value. The discount increases by two per cent for each additional tenancy year to a maximum of 60 per cent or £24,000 whichever is lower.

You aren't eligible if you live in sheltered housing, a group housing scheme, or a single storey or ground floor home, other than a flat, with no more than two bedrooms. Rent arrears do not stop you applying, but the sale cannot complete until they are paid.

If you sell your home within five years of buying, you must pay back the full discount received. If you sell within ten years, you must give the Housing Executive the option to buy back the property. Registered housing associations offer the House Sales Scheme to their tenants too.

Affordable Rent

Affordable Rent is for people who cannot access social housing but still find private rents too expensive. Rents are set at 20 per cent less than local market rent, there is no waiting list and no points system, and tenancies usually last at least five years. You may be eligible if:

• your net annual household income is below £30,000 (single adult) or £40,000 (two adults)
• you have savings of £30,000 or less
• the lead tenant is 18 or over

Homes are advertised by the landlord Maple and May. Apply online at Maple and May Affordable Rent or phone 028 9553 1002. If there are more applicants than homes, tenants will be chosen by random selection.

Buy out your ground rent

Some homeowners pay a yearly ground rent for the land their home is built on, usually every six months in May and November. You can apply to Land Registry to buy it out. To do so, you pay nine times the annual ground rent for your property, plus Land Registry’s £50.00 fee, and you need a certificate signed by your solicitor.

But the owners of flats and apartments can't buy out their ground rent. Very low ground rent is less than £1.00 a year, and has its own form, GR1 (N). Land Registry only accepts cheques and written applications for ground rent redemption.

Cladding Safety Scheme

The Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) is a fund that addresses fire risks associated with cladding on residential buildings. The fund applies to residential buildings which are over 11 metres in height. An application can be submitted by the person or organisation legally responsible for the building’s external repairs or their representative. In Northern Ireland, the CSS will be administered by Homes England as part of their scheme.

Help to Buy and self-build

The Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme closed to new loans on 31 December 2016. If you have one and are struggling to pay, contact your lender immediately.

If you want to build your own home, you need a self-build mortgage, which the lender releases in stages as the build progresses. Most mortgage companies don't offer an advanced payment, due to the risk involved. See nidirect: Raising the money to build your own home.

Grants for repairs and adaptations

The Housing Executive’s Grants scheme can help certain homeowners with adaptations, repairs and improvements to their homes. Discretionary grants for renovation, replacement and repairs are only available in exceptional circumstances. Repair grants are available to landlords, agents and tenants when a local council issues a statutory notice about repairs. See our guide to Housing Executive grants. For adaptations for a disabled person, see the Disabled Facilities Grant.

Common questions

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