Cost Rental Housing
A major Green Party policy that we are putting in place is the cost rental model of housing. In 2021, Ireland saw for the first time, 440 cost-rental homes delivered. These homes have rents up to 30-40% lower than market prices, making this type of residential accommodation affordable.
The 2010s was a lost decade for housing in Ireland.
The supply of houses in Ireland has fallen from an annual average of 60,200 house completions in the 2000s to 11,500 on average in the 2010s. This has seriously impacted the Irish rental market, with typical rents paid across the State doubling between 2010 and the third quarter of 2023, according to Eurostat. On average, private tenants spent 32.44% of their monthly income on rent in the 2022/23 survey, up from 26.3% in 2010.
A major Green Party policy that we are putting in place is the cost rental model. In 2021, Ireland saw for the first time, 440 cost-rental homes delivered. These homes have rents up to 30-40% lower than market prices, making this type of residential accommodation affordable. Under the Housing for All strategy the targets for cost-rental units increase from the current number to 2,000 units a year. The Green Party would like to see this target increased further and will be working with our Government partners to address this.
What is cost rental?
Cost rental is high quality modern rental accommodation provided by the state. It is called cost rental because the rent is used to cover the cost of constructing the accommodation over the life of a long-term building loan. This enables the government and local authorities to plan affordable housing in the long term, and to continue to build new housing even during a downturn. The accommodation is mixed use, mixed tenure with diverse communities to work. It has proven to be a very effective way of providing housing in many European countries. The Austrian's have tested this type of housing for 100 years and it now provides decent, secure and affordable accommodation to more than 60% of Viennese residents.
Cost rental is better for our health
The shortage in public housing is also negatively impacting our health. When asked about stress levels, 78% of homeowners reported low stress, compared to just 58% of renters. Living in privately rented homes has also been linked to faster biological ageing – a study of DNA found that private renting is associated with twice the ageing effect of obesity and half that of smoking.
Housing
Ireland is experiencing an unprecedented housing and affordability crisis. The Green Party is working hard to address these issues by introducing the biggest retrofit scheme ever offered in the history of the State; introducing cost-rental housing for the first time to Ireland; addressing vacancy, dereliction and defective housing; and ensuring that 100% of housing built on public land in major urban centres is social or affordable housing.
Our housing policy
Adequate housing is a human and social right, interdependent with good planning, transport, infrastructural development, and land management. Housing policy should promote good outcomes for children, young people, and those most vulnerable in society such as the elderly and persons with disabilities.
