Mortgage Schemes in Northern Ireland

Buying a home in Northern Ireland can be more affordable, but getting your foot on the ladder can still be challenging. Fortunately, there’s a range of mortgage schemes available to assist homebuyers in Northern Ireland. Here, we’ll explain all the details about Northern Ireland mortgage schemes and where to get expert guidance.

What mortgage schemes are available in Northern Ireland?

Mortgage schemes in Northern Ireland (NI) sometimes differ from those available in England, Scotland and Wales. Rather than relying heavily on national initiatives like Help to Buy, Northern Ireland has its own long-established homeownership support programmes.

Co-Ownership

Co-Ownership is the most widely used government-backed homeownership scheme in Northern Ireland. It allows you to buy a share of a property (usually between 50% and 90%) and pay rent on the remaining portion owned by Co-Ownership Housing.

It works in a similar way to Shared Ownership throughout other parts of the UK. You can increase your ownership share over time through a process known as ‘staircasing’, eventually owning 100% of the property if you want.

Here’s what Co-Ownership can offer:

• Lower deposit and mortgage requirements.

• Reduced monthly mortgage payments.

• Ability to staircase gradually.

• Open to both new-build and resale properties.

• Sometimes no deposit is required.

• Available to over 55s wanting to move homes but can’t afford to.

Who can apply?

Typical eligibility criteria for Co-Ownership include:

• £210,000 maximum property value.

• 4 times salary multiple used for calculating affordability.

• The home must be your main residence.

• Have an acceptable credit history.

• Any savings over £13,000 must be used towards your deposit.

• You must be unable to buy a suitable home on the open market.

• You can’t apply for Co-Own if you currently own property (including owning property or land, including commercial, or being named on any property, in Northern Ireland or elsewhere).

Co-Ownership is often the closest equivalent to a government mortgage scheme in Northern Ireland (as it’s not-for-profit and government-backed) and widely supported by local lenders.

Most Co-Ownership mortgages are arranged with a smaller group of NI-friendly lenders, meaning lender choice is more restricted than with standard mortgages. This makes it even more important that you approach the right lender from the start.

House sales scheme

Under this Northern Ireland mortgage scheme, eligible tenants of the Housing Executive have the right to buy their homes at a discount.

The size of the discount you get depends on how long you’ve been a tenant:

• If you’ve been a tenant for at least 5 years, you get a 20% discount.

• For every year over this, the discount increases by 2% (up to a maximum of 60% or £24,000, whichever is lower).

Who can apply?

To be eligible for the House Sales Scheme in Northern Ireland, you must:

• Have been a secure tenant for at least 5 years.

• If you’ve been a tenant for less than 5 years, but your partner or parent was the previous tenant.

• Not been living in sheltered housing or a property which is part of a group housing scheme.

• Also, not having lived in a single-storey or ground-floor property, other than a flat, with no more than two bedrooms.

Equity sharing

An offshoot of the House Sales Scheme in Northern Ireland is equity sharing. If you’re a tenant of the Housing Executive, you can buy part of your home (if you can’t afford to buy the property in full). This means that you and the Housing Executive jointly own the property.

Here’s how this mortgage scheme works:

• If you can't afford to buy the entire property, you can apply to buy what you can afford.

• You must buy at least 25% of the property's equity.

• You can increase your equity share in multiples of 5% ('staircasing').

• When you buy part of the property, you become the leaseholder rather than a tenant.

• You may be entitled to a discount based on the price of the property you buy.

• As a leaseholder, you have additional responsibilities regarding maintenance, service charges, and rates.

Rent to Own

Unfortunately, the Rent to Own Northern Ireland mortgage scheme is no longer accepting new applications. This scheme worked by allowing you to rent a new-build home for a set period (typically up to three years), with a portion of your rent credited toward a future deposit.

At the end of the rental period, you had the option to buy the property at a pre-agreed price, with 20% of your paid rent towards it. Here’s what the Rent to Own scheme in Northern Ireland offered:

• Time to improve credit or save a deposit.

• Locked-in future purchase price.

• Reduced risk of house prices moving while renting.

• Some of your rent eventually went towards your deposit.

How to choose the right mortgage scheme

The best mortgage scheme to use in Northern Ireland depends on why you’re struggling to buy, rather than simply which scheme sounds most attractive.

It’s also important to consider long-term affordability. Some mortgage schemes reduce upfront costs but may increase your overall payments over time. Luckily, a broker with experience of the Northern Irish market can help you compare the true cost of using a scheme versus buying outright with a standard mortgage.

If you’d like to have a chat with an experienced broker and compare all the current mortgage schemes in Northern Ireland, you can get started below.

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Government schemes not available in Northern Ireland

Several well-known UK-wide schemes do not apply in Northern Ireland, which often causes confusion for buyers researching online. These include:

• Rent to Buy (England-only)

• Right to Buy (England-only, but similar to the House Sales Scheme)

• Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme (closed to new loans in Northern Ireland from 31 December 2016)

• First Homes Scheme (England-only)

• Help to Buy equity loan (England-only, no longer open to new applicants)

Because of this, searching for help to buy mortgage schemes in Northern Ireland may take you down the wrong path and often leads to outdated or England-focused information. In practice, Co-Ownership replaces many of these schemes in NI.

Buy-to-let mortgage schemes in NI

Currently, there are no specific lender or government-backed buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage schemes in Northern Ireland. Investment properties must usually be financed using standard buy-to-let mortgage products.

That said, Northern Irish buy-to-let lending has some unique characteristics:

• Rental stress tests may differ slightly from the rest of the UK.

• Fewer lenders operate directly in the NI market.

• Property type and location can have a bigger impact on lender choice.

A broker experienced in Northern Ireland buy-to-let mortgages can help identify lenders that are comfortable with your local rental yields and property types.

Why choose Money Helpdesk for your mortgage needs?

Mortgage schemes in Northern Ireland are more complex than in other parts of the UK because certain options exclude NI for logistical reasons and the fact that some lenders don’t operate in the region.

As a result, getting the right localised advice can really make an impact on your ability to get a mortgage because a broker operating in NI can help you compare all the relevant mortgage schemes and explain your best route to securing a mortgage.

Here are some more reasons why borrowers across Northern Ireland use Money Helpdesk to get a mortgage:

• Speak to an advisor with direct experience getting mortgages in NI

• Your first chat is free with no obligation to proceed further

• Our brokers are 5-star rated on leading review platforms

• Compare NI mortgage schemes and exclusive deals with lenders

If you’d like to speak with an advisor who can help you plan a path to home ownership using mortgage schemes or other appropriate strategies, you can get started here.