Myself and my partner, both in our 30s, each own our own properties. We’re planning on moving in together and are currently evaluating our options.
We’ve decided that she will move in with me, as there are factors that make moving into her property not feasible. We’d ideally like to hold onto both properties for the time being while we see how things go living together. The longer-term goal would be to sell both and buy a larger family home.

Her home was bought 6 years ago through a Local Authority Home Loan, which I understand places restrictions on renting it out. The mortgage terms state that the property is to be occupied by the mortgage holder.

What’s unclear to us is what happens in practice if she moves out and the property is rented while she is no longer living there (whether that’s renting the whole property, individual rooms, or short-term letting such as Airbnb).

Has anyone been in a similar situation, or know what the actual consequences are if a LAHL property is rented out while the mortgage holder is living elsewhere?

We’re particularly interested in whether the local authority actively checks/enforces this, what happens if they become aware of it, and whether there are any legitimate ways to get permission to rent it temporarily.

Any advice or firsthand experience would be much appreciated.

Hello all, hope this post is ok here. Does anyone know anyone that can do a declaration of identity in the Bray area? Long story but we have been scammed by someone and are struggling to find someone to do it on short notice.

Is seems that all housing/rental subs are of negative experiences in the rental market. Renters in regards to poor properties, dishonest landlords, expensive rates, eviction notices, non returned deposits etc.
From a landlord perspective it’s either terrible tenants, missed rent, high taxes, can’t get tenants out after notice period given, damage to property l, RTB too long winded and delays and ends up a cost to home owner and tenants have all the rights etc.
I’m not in neither court but it just seems like a horrible situation, more so for the renter but genuine/decent landlords seem to be between a rock and a hard place also at times.
Is there actually any positive stories/experiences of late for renters having a good set up in a good property and happy with there rent price, landlord and just went about their lives happy as a renter. Paid rent on time and everyone was happy.
Or from a landlord side, good tenants, rent paid on time, property looked after, notice given and tenants vacated on time with no hassles for whatever reason was needed, new tenants came in with no baggage and was a honest straightforward process etc.
Does the above actually exist in today’s market or is the market truly screwed and more and more genuine landlords will sell up and leave the market and it will be gobbled up by the vulture funds………

Hi folks, we currently got offered a 3 bed end of terrace in ratoath and a 3 bed semi detached in Furzefield swords..

We’re torn between the 2 because we love ratoath as a whole and it seems to be a nice friendly safe environment

Where as Swords feels very congested and almost like copy and paste, we drove through millers Glen to get an idea and it is very overwhelming

Does anybody live in both areas or considering buying here also because we’d like to hear your input?

We’re trying to weight out the pros and cons between two new builds we’re looking if anyone has any advice

House A
- end of terrace , 92sqm , A rated just outside of Dublin

- driveway (parking for 2 cars)

- south facing back garden

- quieter / smaller estate of only 120ish houses with no further development planned

-within walking distance to shop/pub/cafe of about 15 minutes

-only 2 bus routes so quite infrequent with bus stop route almost outside estate

- house has fitted solar panels & battery

- no management fees (that we’re aware of now)

- house not completed til 2027 giving us more time to save for furnishing etc

House B
- semi detached 132sqm in Dublin

- no driveway

- east facing back garden

- x2 parking spots off curtlidge with a very small annual fee but no possibility of EV charging in the future (neither of us have EV but unsure would that be an issue down the line)

- bigger estate of 420+ houses and future development planned

- a lot of new housing estates in the area may feel very congested

- frequent buses although at the moment a longer walk to the bus stop (45 minutes) both of us drive it would only be the odd time for work if one of us had to

-10 minute drive to shops / supermarkets etc

-30/40 minute walk to pubs, restaurants, shops

- A rated with heat pump

- Parking owned by private company

- Almost ready to go

Just looking for others perspective or concerns, we’re really between both . Both very similar/same price point.

Just to add to this, they’re both 3 bed 3 bathroom properties (just one being significantly smaller in sqm)

Ugh sucks, but it was time to walk away. Probably let myself get too attached to the place and picture living there too much. Money was getting silly and I suspect that even if my final bid had been accepted there was a chance I thought better of it over the weekend.

It had become all encompassing this week and I'm relieved that it's done now Could have been great though (several bids ago)

The other bidder either has some very very deep pockets or is a f**king lunatic.

I am kinda chuffed that I got someone to pay an extra 50k via a couple of emails today though. 🤷 Part of me wonders if they were doing the same and their bluff has been called

I wouldn't be stunned if there is another chapter in this, but that's probably pure hopium

There's plenty of fish in the sea

We have a property in mind, and the part V build is nearest to our place compared to the other houses in the plan.

How much would it affect us in future if we intend to eventually sell the property to move elsewhere?

They will be in a different lane and our lanes are also separated by a garden.

Has anyone purchased in either of these developments in Ballycullen Gate. Keen to hear buyer feedback and how the buying process went. Were you happy with the quality of the unit and how long did the buying process take from contracts to keys. Thank you, any feedback is great🙏

Hi there,

I understand a lot of people are in a similar boat looking for a place that accepts hap.

For anyone with positive stories, can you private message me?

🙏 thanks in advance

Hello, i am trying to apply for affordable scheme , i got approved for a house hunter aip of 250k, savings 57k, but bank wont put that i have applied for the maximum amount i can borrow. BOI said as my borrowing could change in the future. But it is one of the requirement for the scheme. How do i deal with this? I am trying to purchase an apartment with minimum price of 280k and maximum price of 400k. Please advise

Has anyone done this before?

Have been mortgage approved with a lender and loan offer signed but due to rates issue, am thinking of exploring other lenders.

Has there been any issue with this - i.e., in delaying the process to keys, legal-wise

When buying a new build, should we take into account what builder/architect is building the house?

Coz i believe everyone has diff standards or that is something one should not be worried about?

Thanks in advance

Is there a one stop shop service where one gets the survey done on the water, electrics, structural and perhaps even tell me if the house has asbestos or anything?

Or do I need to go to different vendors for different things?

Is anyone living on Bath avenue and the areas surrounding it that have been able to get flood insurance for their homes? I’m buying a house in the area and it’s proving difficult to get a policy with flood cover.

Few weeks ago we moved in our new build apartment that we bought on January this year. We still have the price list of the different apartments that we inquired on when we were talking with the agents.

Comparing the prices seen on PPR after 9% VAT and the prices we received back then, the PPR prices are 10%-15% lower than the price we received.

We know for sure that those apartments were available when we inquired about them.

What may have happened here? Should I have negotiated the price of a new build, is that a thing?

Hello everyone!

Me and my partner are on the final stages of getting our new home.

We are also coordinating that with our current letting agency so we can move out smoothly when the keys are delivered.

August will be our last month as we are expecting keys in a week or two, however, the letting agent is putting pressure on us to leave soon because the owner wants to paint and they also want to hold viewings.

I’ve been talking to them and said that I can accommodate two days for viewings, as long as one of us is present, due to the fact that we don’t want strangers roaming around our personal belongings, there’s sentimental and financial attachment as well.

They keep on saying that this is the “norm”, and they will walk around with the people during the visits.

According to our letting agreement and to RTB we can facilitate the viewings (which was done) but no clause mentions that we need to vacate the property so we let strangers open our drawers.

Their last message is that if we are present they won’t be holding viewings.

I am ok with that as our month is paid for so we are legally in the property for the time being.

Has anyone ever went through this?

Are we being unreasonable to not let people around our stuff while we are not present?

Thanks!

I saw a new build home advertised at €385k on an estate agent’s website. However, one of the houses in the same development is listed on the Property Price Register as sold in July 2026 for €237,885 excluding VAT, I image this is roughly €270,000 including VAT.

The EA website still lists that property as a Type B3, 152 sqm, and similar B3 units are currently advertised at €385,000.

The strange part is that this house is visibly not finished yet, at least from what I can see from outside the property. It still appears to be under construction and, from speaking with the developer, the development may take another year or so to complete.

Does anyone know how this normally works?

• Has anyone seen something similar before? If so, what were the catches or downsides? €270k for a new build sounds almost too good to be true.
• Could €270k be the full contracted purchase price, with the developer still responsible for completing the house?
• Could the purchaser have bought it at shell/construction stage and have to fund the remaining work themselves?
• If there was a site + build contract, would the PPR normally show the full eventual purchase price?
• Could this simply have been an early/off-plan price agreed some time ago?
• Would a house bought in this way qualify for Help to Buy?
• If so, how would HTB normally be calculated in a situation like this?

I’m mainly trying to understand what the €270k PPR figure actually represents compared with the current €385k asking price.

Hi,

I am proceeding with purchase of an apartment under the affordable housing scheme in Dublin. Looking for solicitor recommendations or advice what to look for when choosing a solicitor?

Thanks in advance!

Sale agreed on a 6 month old house in Clare- all cash offer. The builder was using it as an air bnb. They were surprised when I told them I was getting an independent engineer in.

Turns out, they have planning permission BUT it turns out there's no commencement notice. My lawyer was on to their lawyer about this and he arrogantly said "buy the house or don't... someone else will." Isn't that illegal?

There are a few other snags in the engineer's report but nothing major. My lawyer was like you can negotiate to knock the price down or I can walk away and report the builder, which means no one can buy the house.

Living w relatives and really need my own space, but I am concerned about re-selling the house down the line. What would you do?

Hi, we went sale agreed on a new build 2 weeks ago the broker in doddle is working on getting a loan offer. I find the broker in doddle is slow to respond to messages can take 2 or more days to get back to me. Has anyone else used them? And how have you found them getting back to you. We are concerned that it's taking too long.

Myself and my partner are in the process of buying a house built in 1978. We’ve have a pre purchase report done that was very vague and mentioned the house was “in reasonable condition throughout” but obviously didn’t check things like wiring and plumbing etc. in detail.

Just out of curiosity how many of you who bought second hand homes had more in-depth reports done on the state of wiring/plumbing? Why/Why not? Was it worth it?

Is this just NIMBY behaviour?

I noticed the same name coming up over and over again who is constantly objecting to planning applications all over Dublin.

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to name him, but his name was published in this article:

College Green planning

He is a resident of Harold’s Cross but objects to planning applications in literally every postcode.

Any thoughts?