John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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1511. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he intends to review the monthly rent of cost-rental properties and if he will decrease these so as more people can access these properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42067/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Cost Rental is a key element of the Government's strategy to improve affordability in the rental sector and to provide secure, long-term homes for moderate-income households which are above the income limits for social housing but which may have difficulty affording rental accommodation in the private market.

The core principle of Cost Rental is that the rents cover the development, management, and maintenance costs of the homes, so that their long-term future is secure without rents being subject to the inflationary pressures of the open market. Rents may over time increase in line with consumer inflation, remaining stable in real terms while covering ongoing costs. It is not possible to intervene to change rents once they have been set at a cost-covering level.

The primary eligibility condition for accessing Cost Rental housing is a maximum net annual household income (less income tax, PRSI, USC, and pension contributions) of €66,000 for Dublin and €59,000 elsewhere. A landlord must be confident that a prospective tenant can reasonably be expected to pay the rent every month over the long term, in order to secure the financial future of the homes. Therefore, under the current legislation a Cost Rental landlord has final discretion on whether to enter into a tenancy agreement with an applicant.

My Department is providing significant capital funding to delivery partners for Cost Rental homes. As well as subsidising new delivery and making it viable, this public funding drives down the rents that must be paid by tenants. All funded Cost Rental projects must achieve cost-covering rents that are at least 25% below comparable local market levels, so the cost-covering model represents significant savings to the tenant relative to equivalent properties in the private rental market.

My Department continues to review the operation of Cost Rental housing, in order to ensure that the the relevant cohort of potential tenants is targeted.