Hi Rebecca46,
this is the affordable housing trap, you can't move to bigger more suitable accommodation when you have a family. I contacted Michael Finneran TD about this to no avail, there is no way out other than to sell. I pointed out that by offering apartments with no storage/outdoor space, the scheme is effectively trapping people in unsuitable accommodation in the longer term. His reply quoted housing acts blah, blah, blah... Most people who enter the scheme are so thrilled to be getting their own place that they don't think beyond their immediate needs, I was exactly like this and I really regret it now. You could contact your local authority to see if you can re-apply to the scheme after you sell, I wouldn't advise this from a financial perspective though as current affordable housing prices are higher than open market prices in many cases. The only good thing is that you aren't affected by negative equity if you sell so you can drop your price so that you will actually be able to sell and not have your apartment sit on the market for a year at an inflated price. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I blame the Government for including apartments in the scheme, they are fine for a certain stage of your life in my opinion but not for a family. Hth