Optimising our Existing Viability Measures

The State has helped deliver many apartments that would not have been built otherwise because of high costs.

• Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) delivered 1,200 cost-rental homes in 2024, up from 286 in 2023 — a 324% increase.
• Over 3,000 cost-rental homes are planned for 2026 and beyond.
• The Land Development Agency (LDA) has already let 1,500 cost-rental homes and aims to deliver 2,500 homes per year.

These homes are mainly apartments and have been supported by key schemes:

• This scheme helps cover the gap between high building costs and market prices by providing up to €144,000 per apartment.
• 500 apartments are currently coming to market under the scheme, with 1,000 more contracted.
• Improvements include:
  • Expanding the areas covered
  • Reducing the minimum size of developments from 40 units to 20 units

• STAR supports new cost-rental homes, mainly apartments, offering up to €200,000 per home to make affordable rents possible.
• Changes now allow STAR funding to be treated as equity instead of debt, making it easier for providers to take part.
• Combined with other measures and a corporation tax exemption for cost-rental activity (Budget 2026), this will encourage more private operators to deliver affordable rental homes.