Just 10% of registered tenants have claimed €500 tax credit this year

In order for renters to access the tax credit, the tenancy must be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board by the landlord.

Concerns have been raised over the low level of uptake for the rent tax credit for 2023, as Sinn Féin calls for a widening of eligibility for the relief.

New figures released by the Department of Housing show that just 40,631—  just over a 10th of those registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) — have claimed the €500 rent tax credit for 2023, as of July 9.

Since 2022, 238,066 renters in total have claimed the €500 credit.

Claims have been highest in Dublin, with 107,054 renters seeking the tax relief for 2022. In Cork, 25,706 claims have been made.

The low uptake for 2023 was described as “quite alarming” by Sinn Féin’s housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin.

Mr Ó Broin said people had contacted Sinn Féin since the credit had been introduced, flagging that their landlord was not registered with the RTB.

As part of the budget measure, renters seeking to access the credit need to be registered with the RTB. This requires their landlord to register the tenancy with the RTB.

The Dublin Mid-West TD said that some tenants were “too scared” to approach their landlord about registering with the RTB over concerns they could be issued with an eviction notice.

He also said that there was one case where a landlord was willing to directly pay a tenant €500, rather than registering the tenancy.

“RTB registration is a barrier for tenants to access the credit,” said Mr Ó Broin, saying that renters should be able to access it by providing proof of a tenancy agreement or that rent has been paid.

In particular, Mr Ó Broin highlighted that when landlords are seeking to accept housing assistance payment (HAP) tenants, they have multiple options open to them to prove they are a landlord.

While tenancies must be registered with the RTB, renters are able to apply for the tax credit without their registered tenancy (RT) number only if they have exhausted all options seeking it out.

However, Revenue may seek further documentation to support their claim, including the RT number. If this is not supplied, the tax relief can be withdrawn.

Mr Ó Broin said the Government was not communicating the availability of the tax credit.

“The Government need to do much, much more to make people aware,” said Mr Ó Broin.

He added that there may be issues with reaching some people eligible for the relief due to language barriers.

'Information campaign'

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Finance said that Revenue are currently conducting an “information campaign” about the credit.

“The Minister for Finance has asked the Revenue to conduct an information campaign to highlight the ease of use of the online myAccount system and to raise awareness of a range of key tax credits and reliefs available to taxpayers including the rent tax credit,” said the spokesperson.

In recent weeks, there have been calls for a further expansion of the tax relief in the upcoming budget, with Fianna Fáil TDs and senators seeking the relief to be either doubled or tripled beyond the current €500. This call was strongly backed particularly by the party’s Dublin TDs.