COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, June 08, 2026

QUESTION NO. 9

QUESTION: Councillor K. Keane

To ask the Chief Executive to report on what steps the Council has taken to implement motion 4 passed in February 2026, which called for a consultation with tenants, tenants unions and organisations with expertise in poverty prior to the drafting of any new Differential Rent Scheme, to include the dates of any consultation held, the organisations involved and any submissions received.

REPLY:

Our 2026 Revenue Budget, adopted by elected members last November, recognised the need for additional income through an updated differential rent scheme to sustainably maintain and improve our social housing stock.

Each local authority has autonomy in determining how social housing rents are set through a differential rent scheme which is a function of the council’s executive and are not required to conduct a public consultation process. We are however, very conscious that any adjustments to the scheme must first and foremost be equitable and affordable for our tenants, while also being sufficient to meet all of the costs involved in managing, maintaining and upgrading our social homes now and into the future.

The Housing Strategic Policy Committee was consulted on proposed amendments to the scheme at meetings held on 11th November 2025, 12th February 2026 and 14th May 2026.

Proposed amendments to rents have been informed by a detailed review of tenant household incomes, local and national rents, and future housing maintenance requirements arising from ongoing social housing stock condition surveys.

In particular, the recent Local Government Audit Service VFM Report on Local Authorities Differential Rent Schemes  demonstrated that, despite our higher maintenance costs and increasing future requirements, rents charged by SDCC were generally lowest of all local authorities nationally across a range of different household sizes and incomes.

Data from the LGAS report shows that during 2025 some households in South Dublin were being charged rents that were an average of 55% less than similar households in similar properties in other Dublin local authority areas which is clearly not sustainable or equitable.

Separately, local councillors have highlighted some instances where households with incomes in excess of social housing thresholds were paying a disproportionately higher percentage of their income on rent which equally needed to be addressed.

The revised rent scheme, under which tenant household incomes will start being reassessed from 1 July 2026, provides consistency across all households with updated rents of up to 12.5% of net household income, ensuring that rents correspond with tenants’ ability to pay.  Average rents under the new scheme are expected to be approximately €346 per month for households in social homes, an increase of 3.7%.

The scheme also features new measures to ensure that rents remain fair, proportionate and reasonable, including:

Adjustments to the council’s rental income are essential to fund projected investment of over €49m for planned maintenance work in our current three-year capital programme.  This work will enhance living conditions and home energy efficiency for tenants while being sustainably funded from equitable and affordable rents.