Building the future of cost rental

November 2025 marked a significant milestone for Tuath Housing with the official opening of Whitehaven in Santry. As Tuath’s first development built to Passivhaus standards, it set a new benchmark for sustainable housing, delivering 255 ultra-low energy homes designed to improve comfort and affordability for its residents.

The most striking feature of the development was not its construction standards, but the demand it generated. More than 7,200 applications were received for just 161 cost rental homes at Whitehaven. That figure highlights both the appeal of cost rental and the scale of Ireland’s affordability challenge.

In 2025, Tuath received 66,292 applications for just over 1,000 cost rental homes. By July 2026 alone, more than 50,000 applications had been received for the 519 cost rental homes provided so far this year. As Tuath CEO Sean O’Connor has noted: “The numbers delivered help, but they do not meet the scale of demand we are seeing. Applications for cost rental far exceed availability, and people’s circumstances show how urgent the need remains for secure, affordable homes.”

Bridging a critical housing gap

Since its introduction in 2021, cost rental has evolved from an innovative housing initiative into a growing and necessary part of Ireland’s housing system. While social housing remains vital, a growing number of middle-income earners find themselves caught between eligibility thresholds and an increasingly unaffordable private market.

Addressing this gap requires sustained delivery and keeping affordability at the heart of housing policy. By providing homes at rents at least 25 per cent below market rates and offering long-term security of tenure, cost rental provides stability and peace of mind. The Cost Rental Equity Loan model, combined with Tuath’s ability to secure competitive funding via the Housing Finance Agency, have significantly strengthened our ability to provide homes at scale with local authority and development partners.
A construction-led approach and focus on value for money have also helped achieve deeper affordability, with cost rents in many locations more than 30 per cent below market rates. Backed by modern methods of construction and high-quality A-rated and Passivhaus homes, this approach combines faster delivery with lower energy costs and strong environmental performance.

Meeting need across Ireland

Housing is critical national infrastructure. A functioning housing system supports employment, education, family life and economic growth. This is reflected in the Government’s action plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, with its focus on increasing supply, supporting regional development and strengthening communities. Ireland needs not only more homes, but the right homes in the right places.

While affordability remains acute in major cities, demand is equally strong across regional towns and counties. Recent launches, including Dundalk’s first cost rental homes, where over 900 applications were received for 24 homes in the first week, demonstrate the scale of need beyond the Greater Dublin Area.

Tuath is committed to expanding its regional cost rental programme, building on success seen in recent years in Drogheda, Mullingar, Portlaoise, Cork, Galway, and Waterford. Together, these developments highlight Cost Rental’s growing role in meeting housing need across Ireland.

The Montpelier development on the site of the former O’Devaney Gardens.

Housing that strengthens communities

Cost rental works best when it forms part of mixed-tenure developments that bring together people from different backgrounds and stages of life. Rather than creating housing defined by a single tenure or income group, this approach supports balanced and sustainable communities.

Equally important is delivering a mix of housing types that reflects changing needs, from apartments for single people and key workers to family and accessible homes. Meeting housing need requires not only greater supply, but greater choice.

Developments like Montpelier in Dublin 7, the regeneration of the former O’Devaney Gardens site, show what this can achieve in practice. In partnership with Dublin City Council, construction commenced in February 2023 and will deliver 1,046 A-rated homes by 2028 across a mix of social, cost rental, affordable purchase and private tenures. This mix of tenures strengthens local communities and allows neighbourhoods to better reflect the diversity of modern Ireland.

A permanent part of Ireland’s housing system

Today, Tuath manages 2,357 cost rental homes across 13 local authority areas, with a projected 2,800 homes by the end of 2026. The current portfolio spans all four Dublin local authorities as well as Cork, Galway City and County, Kildare, Laois, Louth, Meath, Waterford, and Westmeath, with Tuath’s first cost rental homes in Wicklow due this year.

Nearly 3,500 additional cost rental homes are currently in the delivery pipeline across 13 local authority areas. While delivery continues to increase, the scale of demand shows that greater supply is required if cost rental is to fulfil its potential. Growth on this scale requires robust governance, regulatory compliance, financial resilience and the expertise to deliver and manage homes effectively. Tuath’s Board of Voluntary Directors has fully embraced cost rental as a key tenure and remains committed to supporting this growth.

As Ireland’s leading provider of cost rental housing, Tuath welcomes the continued commitment of government, the Housing Finance Agency and each local authority, whose support remains vital to delivery at scale. Cost rental is no longer a pilot initiative. It provides affordability, security, and choice while supporting balanced communities and economic growth. The challenge now is not proving the model works, it is meeting the clear demand we are seeing across Ireland.

W: www.tuathhousing.ie