Over 50 cost-rental homes to open for applications in Kildare

The third tranche of homes to be delivered under the Government’s new cost-rental housing model are being unveiled by housing agency Clúid.

The 56 properties, located in the Barnhall Meadows development in Leixlip, Co Kildare, will be rented to qualifying tenants at sub-market rates of €900 and €1,250 a month. Clúid said the rents are about 45 per cent below market rates.

Applications officially open on the agency’s website today with the first properties due to be occupied before the end of the year.

More than 1,000 families applied for the State’s first 25 cost-rental homes when the first scheme in Balbriggan in north Co Dublin was launched, also by Clúid, in July.

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The State-backed cost-rental initiative aims to assist those on “moderate incomes” who are above the income threshold for social housing.

Under the scheme, rents for the homes are set at a minimum of 25 per cent below market values.

The idea is that tenants pay rent that covers the costs only of delivering, managing and maintaining the homes.

The Leixlip scheme, which was developed by homebuilder Glenveagh, is the third such scheme to be delivered under the new model.

Developing cost-rental homes

The Government aims to deliver an average of 2,000 cost-rental homes per year out to 2030 as part of its Housing for All strategy.

"Cost rental is an exciting new form of tenure in Ireland. I am really glad there are individuals and families already in situ in cost-rental homes, availing of rents which are well below the open market rate," said Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien.

“ I want to see cost rental significantly scaled up and that’s why Government has committed to providing 18,000 cost rental homes between now and the end of 2030,” he said.

In Budget 2022, €70 million has been allocated to develop 700 cost-rental homes. "Cost rental homes provide working people, who do not already own property, access to right sized homes at a rent they can afford," said Clúid director of housing services Kath Cottier.

“With rents an average of 44 per cent below market rates, these new homes here in Barnhall Meadows, Leixlip, offer excellent quality, long-term secure rental options for middle-income households and those struggling to rent on the open market,” she said.

“The security of tenure and affordable rent offered here will support the creation of a more sustainable community and change how we think about long-term rental options in Ireland,” she added.

When complete, Glenveagh will have delivered 450 homes in the Barnhall Meadows development.