Government can make cost-rental housing a viable alternative to homeownership

Small changes, relatively inexpensive from a government’s point of view, can ensure the cost-rental sector reaches its full potential as the ‘game changer’ needed by our housing system

Cost rental is a form of not-for-profit, Government-funded rental housing, much like social housing. Unlike social housing, however, it is targeted at middle-income households (those with incomes roughly between €30,000 and €66,000). File photo

Cost-rental housing is a cornerstone of the Government’s attempt to address the housing affordability crisis. 

Last summer, the Housing Commission’s report argued that this new tenure should be at the centre of the fundamental reform our housing system requires. But new research we published last week shows that the potential of the sector to deliver truly affordable housing has not yet been met.