The Louth / East Meath branch of the Green Party has welcomed the new tax credit for renters which was announced in Budget 2023, which will see two €500 tax credits for 2022 and 2023, as well as subsequent years to 2025.
“This means that renters who apply for the credit at the end of this year will get €1,000 off their taxes in total for 2023, as it will be backdated for 2022” said the Local Green Party Chair, Anthony Murphy.
“Given the current cost of living crisis and the soaring rental prices across the country, I’m glad to see this measure introduced which should bring some relief to renters in Drogheda and South Louth.
“There is no doubt that the overarching issue underpinning rental inflation and instability is the chronic shortage of housing supply. However, in the short term, we need targeted measures such as this.”
Speaking on the longer-term housing challenge Anthony went on to say:
“Longer term measures such as the Town Centre first planning approach and the vacant properties levy should start to see us create new life in our Town Centres. Drogheda needs families living in the heart of our town. We are hosting a public meeting on this topic on the 13th of October in the d Hotel at 7.30 pm please come along and let’s drive action on the sustainable regeneration of our Town.”
The credit will be administered through Revenue and the landlord must be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). As many as 400,000 people across Ireland are expected to benefit.
Green Party Spokesperson for Housing, Francis Noel Duffy TD said;
“The Green Party has been advocating for new approaches to housing for years. In this government, we have secured a referendum on the right to housing, funding for Ireland’s first cost rental housing schemes as well as support for a Town Centres First policy that will look at redeveloping vacant property and bringing life back to our towns and villages.
“Cost rental in particular is going to be an absolute game changer in the delivery of affordable rental accommodation for generations to come with targets through the Housing for All plan increased to 2,000 new units annually. It is this type of sustainable, long term measure that will be truly transformative for renters.”
Relatively new to Ireland, the first 440 cost rental homes came to the market in 2021. The model delivers high quality, modern rental accommodation provided by the state with rents up to 30-40% lower than market prices.
It is called cost rental because the rent is used to cover the cost of constructing the accommodation over the life of a long-term building loan. This enables the government and local authorities to plan affordable housing for current and future generations.
