Image: Clúid Cost Rental homes at Taylor Hill, Balbriggan, County Dublin
Cost Rental: “secure, affordable, safe”
New research reveals the positive impact Cost Rental housing is having on residents
INNOVATION
John Cotterell
Head of Housing Management, Clúid Housing
John Cotterell
Head of Housing Management, Clúid Housing
Issue 74 | October 2024
Despite Cost Rental being a well-established feature of the housing sector across Europe, it is still a reasonably new tenure type in Ireland, with the first Cost Rental homes delivered in 2021. As such, little is known about the impact of Cost Rental on residents here or the sector more broadly.
Clúid, together with Respond and Tuath (the other key AHB providers of Cost Rental), commissioned Dr Michael Byrne of University College Dublin, Dr Cian O’Callaghan of Trinity College Dublin, and colleagues to undertake research to understand how Cost Rental has affected residents’ sense of security, affordability and place.
The full report is available on the Clúid website.
Affordability
While 83% of respondents considered their rent to be fairly or very affordable, as many Cost Rental residents said they were paying more rent now as those who said they had seen a reduction in their rent from their previous tenancy in the private rental sector.
However, interviews with residents revealed that they were satisfied with the level of rent they were paying, as they felt that, overall, they were in a better housing situation.
Image: Clúid's Lancaster Gate development in Cork city centre includes 73 Cost Rental apartments
Quality
The quality of the Cost Rental homes may explain why some residents were happy to pay more than in their previous tenancy. Around three in five respondents listed the quality of the home as most important when applying.
One interviewee remarked: “I was living in a studio for 12 years. It was very damp, cold… The [Cost Rental] rent is double the price… but at least it’s clean and safe for my health.”
The researchers highlighted that, presently, Cost Rental homes are all brand new. The importance of quality should be of interest to those providing Cost Rental homes into the future. As the number of Cost Rental homes increases and potential residents have more options, these homes will need to be maintained to a high standard as they age.
of respondents described their Cost Rental tenancy as very secure
report having a positive relationship with their AHB landlord
Security
A greater proportion of those surveyed listed “long-term home” as the most important reason for applying than any other factor, including “rent was attractive”.
In the interviews, residents spoke of the physical and emotional toll of living in unsuitable, insecure accommodation, and the corresponding relief of moving into their new secure, long-term Cost Rental home.
One resident commented that she felt secure as she knew the AHB was committed for the “lifetime of Cost Rental” and was not going to sell the homes.
Another resident said: “It’s not like someone’s daughter is going to come back from Australia and they need you to leave and they’re going to bend the rules to just get you out.”
A third resident remarked that it was reassuring that the rent increases were stable and predictable, so he is confident he can afford the rent in the future. He no longer has a “constant” worry about homelessness.
Several residents remarked that this sense of security allowed them to “put roots down” and get involved with their local community.
“It’s not like someone’s daughter is going to come back from Australia and they need you to leave and they’re going to bend the rules to just get you out.”
Increasing Cost Rental delivery
Though many residents remarked on the sense of security they felt, some expressed concern about the future and wondered how they would continue to pay rent when they retired. The increasing proportion of people of retirement age in rented accommodation in Ireland is detailed in a 2022 ESRI report and has implications for our housing and social welfare systems.
Despite its relative infancy, it is clear from this research that Cost Rental is having a positive impact on the lives of its residents. Clúid is committed to increasing its delivery of Cost Rental homes, to ensure that these benefits are extended to more households across the country.
