The rents, scheme by scheme
These are the monthly rents advertised for cost rental homes that were open or announced in 2026. Where the provider published its own market valuation for the same home, it is in the last column so you can see the discount they claim. Most Dublin schemes state a discount of 26% to 33%; the regional ones sit closer to the 25% minimum.
| Scheme | Where | 1-bed | 2-bed | 3-bed | Provider’s market rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Mills, CastletroyLDA | Limerick | €990 | · | · | not stated |
| Cornamaddy Court, AthloneTuath | Westmeath | €1,010 | €1,200 | · | €1,350 / €1,600 |
| Barnwell Point, HansfieldLDA | Dublin 15 | studio €1,050 | · | · | not stated |
| Kilcarbery Grange, ClondalkinTuath | Dublin 22 | €1,054 | €1,296 | · | not stated |
| Ballycomyn, BlessingtonTuath | Wicklow | €1,088 | €1,495 | €1,675 | €1,450 / €2,200 / €2,500 |
| The PaddocksClúid | Kildare | · | €1,093 | · | not stated |
| Folkstown Park, BalbrigganTuath | Dublin | €1,100 | €1,400 | €1,575 to €1,695 | €1,600 / €2,100 / €2,300 |
| HearthfieldTuath | Louth | · | €1,122 | €1,407 | €1,675 / €2,100 |
| Balmoston, DonabateTuath | Dublin | €1,330 | €1,580 | €1,750 to €1,800 | €1,850 / €2,350 / €2,600 |
| Rathborne WharfRespond | Dublin 15 | €1,512 (studio €1,350) | €1,575 to €1,872 | · | not stated |
| Grange Oaks, KilternanTuath | Dublin 18 | €1,395 | €1,575 | · | €1,900 / €2,150 |
| Cooper SquareLDA | Dublin | · | €1,600 | · | not stated |
| Airton Plaza, TallaghtClúid | Dublin 24 | · | €1,780 | · | not stated |
Two things stand out. First, the range inside Dublin is wide: a 2-bed in Clondalkin at €1,296 against a 2-bed in Tallaght at €1,780. Location and build cost drive it, and newer apartment blocks with lifts and underground parking cost more to run than duplexes on the edge of town. Second, the regional schemes are not dramatically cheaper than Dublin ones. Athlone at €1,200 for a 2-bed and Blessington at €1,495 show that the 25% rule tracks local market rents, which have risen fastest outside Dublin.
Against the market
The RTB Rent Index for the first quarter of 2026 put the standardised average rent for a new tenancy at €1,839 nationally and €2,335 in Dublin. Sitting tenants paid €1,513 on average. New-tenancy rents rose 9.1% in a year, the biggest jump in a long while, partly because the March 2026 reforms let landlords reset to market rent between tenancies.
Put a Dublin cost rental 2-bed at €1,575 to €1,600 next to that €2,335 and the gap is roughly €700 a month, €8,000 a year. That is a fair comparison for someone moving now, because the alternative to a cost rental home is a new private tenancy, not the rent a friend agreed in 2019. Standardised averages hide a lot (size, area, condition), so treat it as scale rather than a precise saving.
The other difference is what happens next. Private rents in a new six-year tenancy can rise 2% a year and reset to market at the end. Cost rental rents rise with the consumer price index, whatever the market does, and the tenancy does not end at six years. Over a decade that matters more than the starting gap.
What each rent needs in income
Cost rental has a second gate besides the €66,000 (Dublin) and €59,000 (elsewhere) net income caps: the rent cannot be more than 35% of your net household income. Turn it around and every rent has a minimum income. Net means after tax, USC, PRSI and pension contributions, added up across everyone over 18 in the household.
| Monthly rent | Net income needed per month | Net income needed per year |
|---|---|---|
| €1,000 | €2,858 | €34,296 |
| €1,200 | €3,429 | €41,148 |
| €1,400 | €4,001 | €48,012 |
| €1,600 | €4,572 | €54,864 |
| €1,800 | €5,143 | €61,716 |
| €1,872 | €5,349 | €64,188 |
The last row is the point. A €1,872 rent needs €64,183 net a year, and the Dublin cap is €66,000. The most expensive cost rental homes are only open to households in a narrow band just under the ceiling. A single PAYE worker on €45,000 nets about €37,000 in 2026, which supports rent up to €1,080: the Athlone and Clondalkin 1-beds qualify, Blessington misses by €8, Kilternan is out of reach. The eligibility calculator does this arithmetic for your actual payslip, including the 2026 tax bands.
Providers do allow you above 35% if you can show you already pay that much rent reliably, but it is a discretion, not a right, and the LDA in particular uses the 35% figure to stream applicants before the lottery.
The single homes you keep missing
Look at the list of closed schemes on this site and most entries are one home: a 1-bed in Carrigmore Woods, a 2-bed in Parklands Parade, a 3-bed in Farranshock Park. These are re-lets. A tenant leaves, the provider (usually Tuath) advertises the single home for about seven days, runs the lottery, and it is gone. They appear every week somewhere in the country and they never make the news.
Re-lets are also where the odds are best if you can move fast. A brand-new 200-home scheme draws thousands of applications; a single re-let in a suburb draws a fraction of that. If a re-let matches your household size and county, apply the day it appears. Alerts exist for exactly this.
What is not in the rent
Electricity, heating, broadband and TV licence are yours. Homes are unfurnished apart from white goods, blinds and flooring, so budget for furniture before the move-in date, which can be two to four weeks after the offer. The deposit is one month of rent minus €50. There are no letting fees.
Rents are those advertised by the LDA, Tuath, Clúid and Respond for the schemes named. Market figures: RTB Rent Index Q1 2026. Eligibility rules: Affordable Housing Act 2021 and citizensinformation.ie, checked 2026-09-07.