Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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246. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the current status of Government plans to introduce minimum building energy rating standards in the private rental sector from this year, as committed to in Housing for All, noting that the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has already completed an assessment on the investment required for the introduction of such standards; whether he intends to include in Budget 2026 specific measures to support and incentivise landlords to retrofit rental homes to meet these standards, including new grant schemes, budget provision for enforcement and enhanced tenant protection measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54089/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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A commitment was included under Housing for All to develop a roadmap to implement minimum Building Energy Rating (BER) standards, where feasible, for the private rental sector. This work supports the objectives set down in the Government’s Climate Action Plan.

My Department is committed to improving energy efficiency in the rental market and work in this area is being informed by research commissioned from the ESRI. An ESRI research paper published earlier this year explores the investment requirements for energy efficiency upgrades in the private rental sector. The ERSI’s research is a valuable contribution to our understanding of future investment requirements to ensure the appropriate energy efficiency upgrades in the private rental sector and it will support the development of policy and actions.

As part of Ireland’s residential retrofit programme, the Government launched a new package of supports targeting homes that were built and occupied pre-2011. These supports have been made available to non-corporate landlords and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to improve the efficiency of their rental properties. The Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme, launched in 2024, enables homeowners, including non-corporate landlords, to borrow €5,000-75,000 at significantly lower interest rates to complete a home energy upgrade. A tax incentive up to €10,000 per property is in place to encourage small-scale landlords to undertake retrofitting works while the tenant remains in situ. Budget 2026 included the announcement that this incentive will be extended for a further three years. The Home Energy Upgrade Loan Scheme, launched in 2024, enables homeowners, including non-corporate landlords, to borrow €5,000-75,000 at significantly lower interest rates to complete a home energy upgrade.

The appropriate balance will need to be struck between improving the energy efficiency of the rental stock and the potential impact any intervention may have on the private rental market, particularly around the availability of accommodation.

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as a quasi-judicial, independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2024 to facilitate the resolution of residential tenancy disputes and operate a national tenancy registration system. Additional resources will be allocated to the RTB to ensure the effective regulation of the sector. Budget 2026 provides that Exchequer funding allocation for the RTB will be significantly increased by over 70% to €22.8m.