YOUR GUIDE TO THE
SELF-BUILD PRODUCT
The First Home Scheme (FHS) is open to
eligible applicants seeking to build their own
home anywhere in the Republic of Ireland.
If you have a site, or are purchasing a site,
but have insuicient funds to build your
home when you combine your deposit and
your mortgage, you may be able to bridge
the funding gap by availing of the Self-build
product subject to meeting the qualifying
criteria.
Definition of a Self-build Home
A self-build home is one that is built on a site
by the owner(s) of the site either through direct
labour (self-managed) or a fixed contractor
(construction contract). The home will be the
principal private residence of the owner(s).
Self-build House Types
The house you are building can be a detached or
semi-detached house. It can be either a single or
multi-storey home.
FHS Funding for Self-build Homes
Subject to eligibility criteria, you may qualify for
funding of up to 30% of the build cost of your
home.
The Help to Buy (HTB) scheme is available for self-
build homes. If you are availing of the HTB the
maximum amount you may be eligible for from the
FHS will be 20% of the build cost.
Self-build Product Eligibility Criteria
There are a number of eligibility criteria to be
satisfied, including the following:
To be eligible for the Self-build product you must:
• be over 18 years of age
• be a first-time buyer or other eligible
homebuyer
• have Mortgage Approval with a Participating
Lender
• borrow the maximum amount available to you
from one of the Participating Lenders (up to 4
times your income)
• not be availing of a Macro Prudential Exception
(MPE) with a Participating Lender
• have a minimum deposit of 10% of the build
cost (equity in your site can contribute to the
deposit)
To be eligible for the Self-build Product the
property you are building must:
• be in the Republic of Ireland on a site that you
own or are purchasing
• be built as your Principal Private Residence
• be within the local authority property price
ceiling for Self-builds
For full details on eligibility criteria, see
www.firsthomescheme.ie
THE SELF-BUILD JOURNEY
STARTING YOUR JOURNEY
Visit www.firsthomescheme.ie and use the FHS
Eligibility Calculator to calculate the minimum and
maximum funding for which you could potentially
qualify through the FHS.
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YOUR APPLICATION
Once you have decided on your Participating
Lender and have a Mortgage Approval in Principle,
along with your estimated build cost, you can start
your application.
Visit www.firsthomescheme.ie and click
‘Apply Now’.
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RECEIVING YOUR ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATE
Your application and documentation will be
reviewed and, if approved, you will receive an FHS
Eligibility Certificate.
You will need to provide the Eligibility Certificate
to your Participating Lender, who will consider the
FHS when they process your Mortgage Application.
If you are approved for a Mortgage, you will
receive a Mortgage Letter of Oer from your
Participating Lender.
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RECEIVING YOUR CUSTOMER CONTRACT
Once you have your Mortgage Letter of Oer, you
will need to upload it to your FHS Customer Portal,
along with the following documents:
• Your Certified Valuation as instructed by your
Participating Lender
• Your Certified Build Cost from a qualified
architect, engineer or quantity surveyor
If your application is approved, you will receive
your FHS Customer Contract for your equity
facility. This is the formal legal contract between
you and the FHS.
The FHS Customer Contract will also be sent to
your solicitor, along with a number of other legal
documents which must be signed and returned to
the FHS.
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BUILDING YOUR NEW HOME
From the date you sign the FHS Customer
Contract, you have 12 months within which you
can draw down your FHS Equity Facility. FHS Funds
will be released to your solicitor’s account:
• Aer you have received the first Mortgage stage
payment from your Participating Lender
• Once your solicitor returns a Funds Requisition
Form, along with a Certified Property Report to
confirm works completed and planned
You have 24 months to complete the build of your
new home from the date you draw down your FHS
Equity Facility.
Once complete, you are required to upload the
Certificate of Compliance (if applicable) and Final
Valuation to the FHS Customer Portal.
It’s also important that you continue to maintain
adquate building insurance for the property as set
out under your Participating Lender’s Mortgage
Letter of Oer.
REDEEMING YOUR FHS EQUITY SHARE
You can redeem (buy back) the FHS equity share
at any time although you have no obligation to do
so unless a mandatory redemption event occurs.
Partial redemptions are permitted once the build
of your home is complete.
Redemption requests can be made through the
FHS Customer Portal by completing a Redemption
Request form. Visit www.firsthomescheme.ie to
see the steps involved in the Redemption Process.
As the FHS equity facility is linked to the value
of your home, a property valuation from an FHS
approved valuer is required for all redemptions.
The value of your site is discounted from
the property value in order to calculate the
redemption payment. See example below:
Property built in September 2023
Build Cost €300,000.00
Site Value €100,000.00
Total Value
(Build Cost + Site Value) €400,000.00
FHS Equity Amount provided €30,000.00
FHS Equity Amount
as % of Build Cost 10%
Site Value as % of
Total Value (€100k/€400k) 25%
Same property valued January 2026
Property Valuation (House + Site) €450,000.00
Site value to be discounted
(25% * €450k) €112,500.00
Amount used to calculate
Redemption Payment €337,500.00
Redemption Payment
due to FHS (€337,500 * 10%) €33,750.00
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WARNING: Property prices can go up and down. As the equity facility is linked to the value of your
home, any change in property prices will aect any partial or final redemption amounts. If property
prices increase/decrease over time, the percentage equity you have to redeem will remain the same
but the € amount will increase/decrease. See example in the case of a price increase below:
Example: Self-build (own site):
Customer owns a site valued at €100,000 and builds a house on that site at a cost of €300,000.
Customer avails of €30,000 from the First Home Scheme (FHS) which means the FHS has a 10% FHS
equity share in your house built on the site.
Sometime in the future you decide to buy out the FHS equity share. The property, including both
house and original site is now valued at €500,000.
At the time of build, the site value represented 25% of the total value of the home (i.e.€100,000) and
this 25% will now be discounted from the current value before calculating the FHS Equity amount to
be redeemed (€500,000 less current site value of €125,000, equals €375,000). As the FHS equity share
is unchanged at 10%, you will now need €37,500 (10% of €375,000) plus any accrued service charges
payable, to redeem the FHS equity share in the home.
WARNING: We strongly recommend you seek advice from an independent financial adviser and legal
adviser if applying for this product.
WARNING: The First Home Scheme is not regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and the equity
product is not governed by the Central Bank and its statutory codes of conduct and/or other
regulations to include the Consumer Protection Code. However, this does not aect your rights under
consumer law.
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