Local authorities urge landlords to sign up to new scheme to take on social housing tenants

The councils said rent payments would continue even during vacancy periods, but the properties must be vacant or newly built, as well as being fully furnished and compliant with rental standards. File picture

The four local authorities in Dublin have urged new landlords to sign up to a scheme to take on social housing tenants where they can get full market rent and even get paid when the property is vacant.

Dublin City Council, South Dublin County Council, Fingal County Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council announced the scheme “designed specifically with landlords in mind” which promises “long-term contracts and minimal hassle” on Monday.

“This pilot will give the Dublin local authorities additional practical tools to engage with property owners, secure more homes for social housing and provide greater stability for households,” housing minister James Browne said.

“They will allow us to test, in a focused way, whether additional flexibility can help increase property owner participation and make more homes available to social housing tenants under the rental accommodation scheme (RAS).” 

RAS is a Government scheme for those in need of long-term housing who are in receipt of rent supplement.

According to Department of Housing figures, there were 16,384 active tenancies being supported by the RAS scheme at the end of 2025, with 1,749 new tenancies across those 12 months. The total spend on it last year was €103.7m.

This new “enhanced” scheme will allow landlords to avail of “up to 100% market rent” on a property, with agreements of up to eight years to provide income certainty for the landlord. The landlord also does not have to source a tenant as these are nominated by the council.

The councils said rent payments would continue even during vacancy periods, but the properties must be vacant or newly built, as well as being fully furnished and compliant with rental standards.

Mr Browne said the evidence gathered through this pilot designed to get more landlords on board would help inform future policy decisions on the role and operation of RAS nationally.