Housing SPC backs call to review rent hikes with stage set for budget battle

Dublin City Council’s Housing SPC has voted to review social housing rent hikes, setting up a political battle over how to fund essential maintenance without punishing low-income tenants during a cost-of-living crisis

Add to preferred sources Comments News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 14:24, 17 Sep 2026 Updated 15:10, 17 Sep 2026 View Image CATU members protest Dublin City Council rent hikes outside City Hall

The stage has been set for a tense political battle at the 2027 Dublin City Council budget vote.

Last November, the council controversially introduced their new differential rent scheme , which was the first major change to how social housing rent is calculated in 30 years. Introduced in April, this saw rents increase for many council tenants and has been subsequently protested outside City Hall at every subsequent full council.

The campaign to ‘drop the rent hikes’ never subsided and at the September meeting the council agreed to review the rent increases. And now, the Housing and Social Inclusion SPC meeting has also passed a motion calling for a reversal and for alternative revenue raising mechanisms to be investigated.

This motion, which was originally submitted by People Before Profit Cllr Conor Reddy as an emergency motion to the full council meeting in April, passed by 11 votes to 8 following a wide-ranging debate on the impact of the increases on council and HAP tenants, the growing cost-of-living crisis and the condition of Dublin City Council ’s housing stock. Council management argued the rent scheme is a fair, equitable way to fund an extra €20m in planned maintenance and hire 41 new housing staff. Opposition councillors argued that low-income families are being unfairly asked to pay more during a cost of living crisis, often while living in cold, damp and dilapidated homes.

Cllr Reddy described the decision to increase rents as a “backwards step” that goes against the principles of social housing. He said that although there is a need to increase maintenance funding it is not “egregious to put the burden on council tenants”. He called for the exchequer to be the ones funding serious maintenance projects.

“Today’s vote sends a very clear message to the Chief Executive. A majority of members of the Housing SPC do not believe tenants should be made to carry these rent increases, particularly in the middle of a rapidly worsening cost-of-living crisis,” he said.

“The hardship figures are extraordinary. Tens of thousands of households have been affected by these rent changes, yet only six council tenants across the whole city have actually received relief under the hardship scheme , with approximately twenty applications made. This does not square with the experience I and others have had on the ground, with far more tenants coming forward with concerns about how they meet the basic costs in their lives.”

A central theme throughout the debate was the inherent unfairness of increasing rents for maintenance reasons before that maintenance has been carried out. Highlighting Dublin City Council’s role as a landlord to tenants, many councillors have pointed out that those in private accommodation would never be asked to pay for repairs that may not happen for years.

“People are understandably angry at being asked to pay more rent for homes that in many cases are still in poor condition. Some tenants are being told that improvements are coming, but may have to wait years to see them. You cannot tell somebody living with damp, mould or a freezing home that they should pay more now and perhaps see the benefit somewhere down the line,” Cllr Reddy said.

Sinn Féin Cllr Daithí Doolan echoed these points stating that those experiencing serious maintenance issues have already waited years for their issues to be resolved. “ Oliver Bond is 2030 , Dolphin House is 2031. That’s long into the distance for these tenants,” he said.

Social Democrats Cllr Mary Callaghan criticised the council for “doing it the wrong way around”. She said rents should only be increased after houses have been made habitable and pointed out the major difference in utility bills between those living in an A-rated apartment versus a building that is sometimes more than 100 years old.

Another issue that came up time and again in the debate was the impact of rent increases on those living in overcrowded households. The new rent system has increased the weekly contribution paid by secondary earners in the household from €21 to €40, which councillors explained has had a major impact on the overall rent paid.

Councillors stated that secondary owners are often adult children who don’t contribute to household rent, meaning the primary owner is left to shoulder steep weekly increases alone. Whether it’s an adult child who is saving up to try and get on the property ladder themselves or somebody sharing a room with three or four other siblings, Sinn Féin Cllr Janice Boylan stressed the need to look at issues on a case-by-case basis.

She said she’s working directly with families in incredibly difficult circumstances who have been refused the hardship fund to have their rates reduced. She said that these are “people sleeping on couches” and that an extreme burden is being placed on struggling mothers and fathers.

Cllr Reddy called it “a tax on overcrowding” and cited families who have had increases of as much as €150 a week. “They are now paying more than most people who own their homes in the area are in mortgage repayments," he said.

A further issue raised was the way the rent increases impacts those receiving Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). These tenants are renting from the private sector and yet still have to pay toward maintenance funds that will never benefit them, often while facing unsustainable top-up payments to private landlords.

Assistant Chief Executive Mick Mulhern explained that when the working group was formed to develop the new rent scheme they sought to ensure those on the lowest incomes would be protected. He said that last year they wrote off €2 million worth of debt to variety of tenants and putting supports in place for addressing individual cases of hardship is always on the table.

“This is not about going after people who can’t pay, it’s about tackling people who won’t pay.” he said. However, many councillors were firm that in their experiences speaking constitutions they are coming across instances of extreme poverty and struggling. Cllr Reddy referenced the Barnardos cost-of-living study released last June which revealed that more than one third of families surveyed (36%) went into arrears on energy bills at some point over the past 12 months and 44% of parents skipped meals due to cost concerns.

Joe Duffy from the Dublin Council of Trade Unions highlighted that approximately 50% of households outlined in the council’s report were on a total weekly income of less than €600. “For me, that constitutes extreme poverty in modern terms,” he said.

Mr Duffy called for alternative ways of funding maintenance revenue to be considered and pointed out increased taxations on dereliction sites or a development tax on land left idle as options to consider. Mr Mulhern said that alternative revenue streams was not an issue to be dealt with by the Housing SPC and would need to be brought to the budget consultative group which will inform the council’s 2027 budget.

While Cllr Reddy’s motion to review the rent increases was passed, not all representatives were against the scheme. When the budget passed last November it did so by just a single vote and was supported by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour, Green and some independent councillors.

Green Party Cllr Donna Cooney said that she believes a “review is warranted” but also highlighted an uptick in maintenance works as well as the addition of 41 new staff. She said it was necessary to vote in support of the budget to ensure the council kept functioning and that they needed to plug the gap in their maintenance deficit somehow.

“If anyone has a way of finding an extra €30m. We can’t keep putting it on rates and shops that are struggling. Family businesses are closing down across the city,” she said.

Executive Manager Frank D’Arcy said measures were put in to protect lower income earners, with their shock absorber income disregard raised to €55 per week from the previous €32. Mr Mulhern said they endeavoured to design a “fairer, more equitable approach, rather than lower income paying proportionally more”.

Cllr Reddy said the arguments made at the SPC will now be brought into the rent review agreed at last the full meeting of Dublin City Council. He said: “We will bring today’s vote, the arrears figures, the hardship figures and the experiences of tenants directly into that review.

“I hope the Chief Executive listens to the clear call from the Housing SPC and reverses these increases. Before the council budget meeting we intend to put forward an alternative that protects maintenance spending without making tenants pay the price.

“Last year the budget passed by a single vote, and our alternative came very close to winning majority support. We hope to build on that support this year and put forward a fairer way of funding the services and maintenance people need.”

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

Want to see more of the stories you love from Dublin Live? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives top stories and must-read content straight away. To add us as a preferred source, simply click here .