Dublin City Council’s Housing and Social Inclusion Strategic Policy Committee has today backed a motion from People Before Profit Councillor Conor Reddy calling for the reversal of the council rent increases introduced in April.
The motion, which was originally submitted 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.
The vote comes ahead of preparations for the 2027 City Council Budget. Last year, the 2026 budget, which incorporated the rent hikes, passed by just a single vote, after an alternative proposal from People Before Profit received significant support across the Council.
The motion also follows campaigning from the Community Action Tenants Union (CATU) across Dublin. Having organised several protests, CATU has escalated its campaigning on the rent hikes, contacting councillors to get motions through area committees in the run-up to the 2027 City Council Budget. Cllr Reddy passed the first of these motions in June, when he proposed a motion calling for the reversal of the increases, with Sinn Féin councillors in his area co-signing. Over the next two weeks, the other four area committees will vote on similar motions.
During the SPC debate, members highlighted the hardship being experienced by households struggling with higher rents alongside rising food, energy and other essential costs. Concern was also raised that only six council tenants across the entire city have so far received relief under Dublin City Council’s hardship scheme, while just over 20 HAP households have received similar support.
Cllr Reddy said:
“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. 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.”
The debate also heard concerns about tenants being charged substantially more while continuing to live in homes affected by damp, mould, cold and longstanding maintenance problems.
Cllr Reddy continued:
“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. Council housing is a public good. Maintenance and refurbishment should be properly funded by central government, not paid for by putting additional pressure on low-income tenants.”
Cllr Reddy also argued that the long-term solution must include opening public housing to a much broader section of society.
“I believe public housing should be accessible to everybody. If we had a broader mix of tenants, including more households on higher incomes paying differential rents, there would be a much stronger and more sustainable revenue base for maintenance. The strongest public housing systems in Europe work on that basis. A heavily residualised system, where public housing is restricted mainly to people on the lowest incomes, will never properly wash its own face. Central government should seriously consider raising the income limits for access to social housing, and this is something we have proposed on numerous occasions as a party.”
The motion also called for alternative revenue-raising options to be examined rather than relying on higher rents from council tenants.
Cllr Reddy said the arguments made at the SPC will now be brought into the rent review agreed at last Monday’s meeting of Dublin City Council.
“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.”