Rent to buy in Ireland: what exists, what does not, and the State routes for renters

People search for a “rent to buy scheme” expecting a Government one. There is none. No council, the LDA or the Housing Agency runs a scheme where your rent goes towards buying the home. Three different things get called rent to buy instead: private rent-to-own companies, the council Tenant Purchase Scheme, and a handful of State schemes for renters whose landlord is selling. Here is each, with the catch.

Published 2026-10-26. Company terms are as published on their own sites and in RTÉ and Irish Times reports, read on 26 October 2026. We have no arrangement with any of the companies named.

1. Private rent-to-own

A small number of companies buy homes and rent them to people who can afford the monthly payments but cannot get a mortgage yet. Part of what you pay each month builds towards a deposit and gives you the right to buy later. Two operate in Ireland now.

Homely. You rent on an RTB-registered tenancy at market rent and pay a monthly fee on top for the legal right to buy. The company says the right to buy is secured on the property title, the path to ownership takes three to five years, and it targets a 6% to 10% discount on the purchase price. Its first scheme in Co. Kildare, at Riverside Manor in Kilcullen, was announced in April 2026 with seven homes to start: rents from €1,800 a month plus €400 to €600 a month towards the deposit, over a three-year term. It also buys second-hand homes that customers find themselves.

Dwellr. Two lease plans over 36 months. In the first, Dwellr buys the whole home and you save the 10% deposit in an escrow account while you rent. In the second, you pay 10% of the price up front (2% on day one, the remaining 8% saved in escrow) and Dwellr buys the other 90%. At the end you get a mortgage and buy, or walk away with your savings minus costs set out in the agreement.

This has been tried before. After the 2008 crash developers ran rent-to-buy deals to move unsold new builds; Easisteps was one, at developments such as Belarmine in Stepaside and Rathborne Village in Dublin 15. Revenue still keeps a page on how VAT applies to those developer schemes.

Before you sign a rent-to-own agreement

None of this is a State scheme, so the protections come from the contract and the tenancy, not from a scheme rulebook. Have a solicitor read it, and get straight answers to these:

The price. Is the purchase price fixed now, or set by a valuation at the end? If prices rise, which one applies?
The monthly top-up. If no bank will lend at the end, how much of it do you get back, and when?
The tenancy. Is it registered with the RTB? Can it end before the option date, and on what grounds?
The mortgage at the end. You still need one. Ask a broker now whether three years of these payments will get you there on your income.
Repairs and charges. Who pays for what during the rental years, including management fees on an apartment.

Abroad the model has drawn scrutiny: the Irish Times reported in January 2026 that New York’s financial regulator was looking at whether rent-to-own can amount to unlicensed mortgage lending. That says nothing about the Irish firms, but it is a reason to read the terms closely.

2. Council tenants: the Tenant Purchase Scheme

This is the one State scheme that really is rent then buy, and it is only for council tenants. Under the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme you can buy the council house you rent once you have had social housing support for at least 10 years and have a minimum reckonable income of €11,000 a year. The discount is 40%, 50% or 60% off the price, depending on household income, and the council keeps a charge on the home for the discount, cut by 2% a year until it reaches zero after 20, 25 or 30 years. Houses the council bought, rather than built, are excluded from sale. Ask your council’s housing department for the application pack.

3. Private renters: the State routes that come closest

If you rent privately, these are the schemes that do what people hope rent to buy will do.

Your landlord is selling and you want to buy the home. The First Home Scheme’s Tenant Home Purchase product puts in equity to cover the gap between your deposit plus mortgage and the price. It needs a valid notice of termination giving sale as the reason, from an RTB-registered landlord. The First Home Scheme guide covers the equity share and how to buy it back. If banks will not lend enough, the Local Authority Home Loan has a faster process for tenants in the same position (the two cannot be combined).
Your landlord is selling and you cannot buy. Under the tenant in situ schemes the council or the Housing Agency buys the home and you stay as a tenant.
You want a lower, secure rent while you save. Cost rental homes are let at least 25% under market, with rent rising only with inflation and no landlord sale ending the tenancy. You never own the home, but the gap between cost rent and market rent is often the deposit. Net household income up to €66,000 in Dublin or €59,000 elsewhere: check yours, then see what is open now.
You are ready to buy, just not at market price. Councils and the LDA sell affordable purchase homes below market value and keep an equity share. Help to Buy refunds tax towards a deposit on a new build.

The side-by-side guide to all six schemes lays out the income rules for each.

Sources

Questions people ask

Is there a rent to buy scheme in Ireland?

Not from the Government or the councils. There is no State scheme where you rent a home and part of the rent goes towards buying it. What exists are private rent-to-own companies (Homely and Dwellr are two), the Tenant Purchase Scheme for long-term council tenants, and State schemes for private renters whose landlord is selling: the First Home Scheme Tenant Home Purchase product, the Local Authority Home Loan and the tenant in situ schemes.

How does rent to own work in Ireland?

A company buys the home, you rent it on an RTB-registered tenancy and pay a monthly amount on top of the rent that builds towards a deposit and secures your right to buy. After about three to five years you get a mortgage and buy. At Homely’s Kilcullen scheme in 2026, rents started at €1,800 a month with €400 to €600 a month on top, over a three-year term.

Is cost rental a rent to buy scheme?

No. Cost rental is long-term renting from the LDA, a housing body or a council at a rent at least 25% below market, rising only with inflation. You never buy the home. It is for households with net income up to €66,000 in Dublin or €59,000 elsewhere, and a lower rent can leave room to save a deposit.

Can I buy the house I am renting if my landlord sells?

Yes, if you can finance it. The First Home Scheme has a Tenant Home Purchase product that covers a gap between your deposit plus mortgage and the price, for tenants with a valid notice of termination because the landlord is selling. The Local Authority Home Loan has a faster process for tenants in the same position. If buying is out of reach, the tenant in situ schemes let the State buy the home while you stay.