The cost of renting will increase for almost two-in-every-five (38%) Kerry County Council tenancies from February.
The council plans to remove its maximum rent cap for over a three-year period beginning in 2026.
It follows a full review of the cap, which management says focused on affordability, equity and the delivery of its housing programme.
Council executives say the rent cap has created inequities in Kerry over time, where those earning higher incomes were paying proportionally less rent than those on lower incomes.
They say this is the case for approximately 38% of tenancies, but that 62% of Kerry County Council tenants will see no change in their rent, based on their current assessable income.
Under the new assessment, no household will pay more than 20% of its assessable income on rent, regardless of what is earned.
Council management argue this is much lower than the accepted benchmark of 35% of net income on direct housing cost for low to moderate income households.
In total, Kerry County Council expects collect over 16.2 million euro (€16,225,342) in rent next year.
Several county councillors spoke at the budget meeting of the need to better maintain the council’s housing stock in the wake of the rent increases.
Rents will increase across all categories, including local authority housing rents, Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) rents, and social leasing rents.
Councillor Marie Moloney said that the council needs to raise its game when it comes to repairs in social housing, as most responsibilities currently fall back on residents.
Councillor Jackie Healy-Rae noted the housing maintenance budget has increased by over 50%; saying the tenancy handbook needs to be reviewed because tenants deserve more in return for the additional rent they will be paying.
Councillor Norma Moriarty cautioned the removal of the rent cap may prompt more people to enter the Tenant Purchase Scheme, warning a mechanism needs to be found to replace any sold council homes.
Presenting the proposed 2026 budget for Kerry County Council, the director of finance, Angela McAllen, said the additional revenue from the rent increase will be used to strengthen the housing maintenance budget, support preventative maintenance and retrofitting, and increase funding for Residents’ Associations and estate upkeep.
