Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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519. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his position regarding the prohibition of pet ownership in apartments owned by approved housing bodies which was raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65606/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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In the case of a Cost Rental apartment owned by an Approved Housing Body, the management of the tenancy in almost all respects (apart from the setting of the rent) is governed by the general provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, which sets out the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. It is important to note that Cost Rental housing is not a form of social housing, and in many ways the experience of renting a Cost Rental home is much closer to that of the private rental sector, except with cost-based rents and stronger security-of-tenure protections for tenants.

The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 makes no reference to animals, so it is generally “house rules” agreed between a landlord and a tenant at the start of a tenancy that might deal with keeping pets. Any relevant terms should be incorporated into the tenancy agreement.

However, there is an action in the Government's new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025–2030, to require that AHB social housing tenants are not precluded from living with domestic pets. A Working Group comprising of representatives of the Local Authority and AHB sectors, the Housing Agency, and my Department has been established to review the 2022 CCMA Code of Practice for nominations to social housing owned by AHBs. The Cost Rental team in my Department will review the outcome of this action since AHBs provide both Cost Rental homes and social housing.