Chapter 8 of 10 · Money and supports · 1 of 8
Cost rental: what it is and how to apply
Below-market rents from AHBs and the LDA, the income limits, the lottery, and the rules that do and do not apply to cost-rental tenants.
Checked 27 OCT 2026 · 4 sourcesWritten in plain English for the person paying the rent. This guide covers the Republic of Ireland only.
Cost rental is a tenure of its own. The home is let by an approved housing body, the Land Development Agency or a council. The rent is set to cover the cost of building and running the home, not the rent the market would bear. The Affordable Housing Act 2021 requires that rent to be at least 25% below the market rent for the area, and the home stays cost rental for decades. It is for households that earn too much for social housing and too little to rent comfortably at market.
The scheme has an income limit, a lottery where more eligible people apply than there are homes, and a set of tenancy rules that are mostly the Residential Tenancies Act with changes. This guide sets out who qualifies, how a scheme is advertised and allocated, and which of the usual renter's rules do and do not apply once you are in.
Two warnings first. There is no national waiting list: each scheme is advertised separately with a short window. And the rent tax credit is not available in cost rental; the rent tax credit calculator lists that among the conditions.
Who provides it
Three kinds of landlord let cost-rental homes. Approved housing bodies, such as the large national bodies, build and manage most of the schemes to date. The Land Development Agency lets homes through its own schemes and through its Project Tosaigh partnerships with developers. Some local authorities let cost-rental homes directly.
All three are landlords under the Residential Tenancies Act, and your tenancy is registered with the RTB like any other. The difference is in how the rent is set and in the security the Act gives a cost-rental tenant. Approved housing body and cost-rental tenants looks at the day-to-day position in more detail.
The income limit and the other conditions
The limit is on net household income, after tax, PRSI and USC, for everyone who will live in the home. When this guide was checked the published limits were €66,000 a year in Dublin and €59,000 in the rest of the State. The figure is set by regulation and has been raised before, so take the gov.ie page as the current word.
You must not own a home, here or abroad, and you must not be receiving social housing support, HAP or Rent Supplement. You must be able to afford the rent: providers look for a rent that is no more than about a third of your net income. The home must suit your household, so a one-bedroom home goes to one or two people and a three-bedroom home to a family.
Some schemes have added conditions set by the funder, such as a preference for households already living or working in the council area. The advert says so. Read it before you spend an evening on the form.
How a scheme is advertised and allocated
A provider announces a scheme with the address, the number and size of the homes, the rents, and an application window, usually two or three weeks. You apply online to that provider, uploading proof of identity, proof of income for everyone in the household, and a declaration that you do not own a home and are not on social housing support.
Where more eligible households apply than there are homes, the provider holds a lottery. Each eligible application for a home of the right size gets one entry; there is no points system and no priority for time waiting. Successful applicants are offered a home and have a short time to accept. The rest may be placed on a reserve list for that scheme, which does not carry over to the next one.
The practical advice is to be ready before a window opens. Keep scanned copies of your documents, register for alerts with every provider and with the LDA, and apply on the first day. The county pages carry the housing contacts for each council, which can tell you about schemes planned in the area.
The rent, and how it changes
The opening rent is set by the provider to cover the cost of the home over its life, and the Act requires it to be at least 25% below market. The provider must publish how it set the rent. The rent is reviewed under the Affordable Housing Act 2021, which links the rise to the consumer price index. The cap of 2% or CPI that has applied to private tenancies since 1 March 2026 does not govern it. The cost-rental rent is designed to stay below market for the life of the designation.
A rent review in cost rental still needs written notice, and a dispute about it goes to the RTB. Keep paying the current rent while a dispute runs.
Which Residential Tenancies Act rules apply
| Rule | In cost rental |
|---|---|
| Registration with the RTB | Yes; the provider registers and pays the fee |
| Deposit cap of one month, advance rent of one month | Yes |
| Minimum standards and the council's inspection | Yes |
| Peaceful and exclusive occupation, entry by arrangement | Yes |
| RTB disputes, mediation free, adjudication €30 | Yes |
| The private rent cap of 2% or CPI | No; the 2021 Act's cost-rental review rules apply instead |
| Termination because the landlord intends to sell | No; the 2021 Act removes that ground for a cost-rental tenancy |
| Termination for the landlord's family to move in | No |
| Termination for your breach, arrears or anti-social behaviour | Yes, with the same warning notices and notice periods |
| Rent tax credit | No |
The security of tenure is the point of the tenure. A cost-rental landlord may end the tenancy for your breach of its terms, for arrears after a 28-day warning, or for serious anti-social behaviour, with the same notice periods as any landlord. It may not end it to sell the home or to house a relative. The home is designated cost rental for a minimum period, 40 years in the schemes to date, and the designation binds any buyer.
Your own notice periods, if you want to leave, are the ordinary tenant periods in the Act, from 28 days in the first six months to 112 days after eight years. Giving notice to your landlord has the table and the letter.
If your income rises
There is no re-test of income once you are a tenant. The limit applies on the day you apply. A later pay rise does not end the tenancy and does not change the rent, which moves only under the review rules above.
Where this leaves you
Cost rental is a below-market rent, at least 25% under the market figure, from an approved housing body, the LDA or a council. It is for households under the income limit who do not own a home and are not on social housing support. There is no waiting list: watch for each scheme, apply inside its window, and take your chance in the lottery. Once in, you have the Act's rules on deposits, standards, privacy and disputes, a rent that moves under the 2021 Act rather than the private cap, and a tenancy the landlord cannot end to sell. The rent tax credit is the one thing you give up. If the rent is still a stretch, ring MABS on 0818 07 2000 before you apply, and bring the budget to the application.
Questions people ask
What is cost rental housing?
Homes let by approved housing bodies, the Land Development Agency and some councils at a rent set to cover the cost of building and managing them, not the market. The rent must be at least 25% below the market rent for the area, and the home stays cost rental for decades. It is for people who earn too much for social housing and too little for the market.
Who is eligible for cost rental?
A household whose net income is below the limit, which when this guide was checked was €66,000 a year in Dublin and €59,000 elsewhere, that does not own a home, is not getting social housing support or HAP, and can afford the rent. The home must suit the size of the household. Check the gov.ie page for the limits in force when you apply.
How do I apply for cost rental in Dublin or Galway?
There is no central list. Each scheme is advertised by its provider, usually an approved housing body or the Land Development Agency, with an application window of a few weeks. Register for alerts on the providers' sites and on the LDA's site, apply inside the window with your documents ready, and the provider runs a lottery among eligible applicants.
Can a cost rental landlord put the rent up?
Only under the rules in the Affordable Housing Act 2021, which link the rent to the consumer price index at review, not the 2% cap that applies to private rents. The rent stays below market. The RTB deals with disputes about a cost-rental rent in the same way as any other.
Can I claim the rent tax credit in cost rental?
No. Revenue's conditions exclude rent paid in a cost-rental home, in the same way as rent paid under HAP.