Buy your first home step by step
Move from budget and approval through legal, condition and drawdown checks.
Home & Property · Republic of Ireland
Understand the home decision before you commit
Follow the buying journey, build a prudent mortgage budget, protect your rights as a renter and interpret a home’s energy information.
Buying, renting and understanding a property
Set an affordable mortgage budget
Use lending limits as a ceiling, then stress-test the household repayment.
Know your basic rights as a renter
Check registration, rent review, repair, notice and RTB dispute routes.
Budget for fees and taxes
Allow for stamp duty, legal outlays, registration, checks, insurance and moving.
Understand a BER rating
Learn what the 2026 scale measures and why it cannot predict your exact bill.
Does a home extension need planning permission in Ireland?
Understand exempted development, the limits that can remove an exemption and how to get a formal local-authority decision.
How to plan a home energy retrofit in Ireland
Start with evidence, sequence insulation, ventilation and heating correctly, and compare grant-supported routes without buying the wrong measure first.
Model the borrowing decision
Three checks protect a home buyer
The lender checks the loan and security, the solicitor checks title and contract, and an independent surveyor or engineer checks physical condition. Keep the three questions separate. For renters, use the current Residential Tenancies Board route because tenancy rules can change by start date and accommodation type.