Strong Demand for Cost Rental Homes at Montpelier Shows What Dublin Needs Next

Today marks an important milestone in how we deliver housing in Dublin.

From Monday March 30th at 2pm, applications will open for the first Cost Rental homes at Montpelier in Dublin 7. Even before the system opens, more than 8,000 people have already registered their interest. That figure alone tells a powerful story. Demand for secure, affordable housing in our city is not just strong, it is overwhelming.

Montpelier is one of the most significant housing developments currently underway in Dublin. In total, it will deliver over 1,000 homes, including 264 Cost Rental homes managed by Tuath Housing. The first phase at Ashford House will see 75 homes completed by June, with residents expected to move in shortly afterwards.

But this is about more than numbers.

Cost Rental is a different model, and an important one. It provides high quality homes at rents based on the cost of delivery, not the volatility of the private market. At Montpelier, rents will be at least 30 percent below comparable market rates, offering stability, certainty and fairness to people who are locked out of private renting but do not qualify for social housing.

This is exactly the kind of approach we need to scale up.

What makes Montpelier particularly significant is the focus on community. For the first time in the Approved Housing Body sector, 25 percent of these homes will be reserved for people with a local connection. That means people who already live, work, or study in the area have a real opportunity to stay rooted in their community.

That matters.

Too often in Dublin, we talk about housing in terms of units and targets. But housing is about people. It is about continuity, belonging, and the ability to build a life in the place you call home. Supporting local connection helps to protect the social fabric of our neighbourhoods as our city grows.

Montpelier also reflects what I have consistently spoken about as Lord Mayor, the need to build not just more homes, but better neighbourhoods.

This is a living city in action, delivering secure, high quality homes where people can thrive.

It is an active city, with green spaces, shared amenities, and design that encourages interaction, wellbeing and sustainability.

And it is an engaged city, delivered through real collaboration between Dublin City Council, Tuath Housing, public representatives, officials, and the local community.

When we get that combination right, we do more than meet housing need. We create places where people want to live, stay, and contribute.

There is still a long way to go. The level of demand we are seeing underlines the scale of the challenge ahead. But developments like Montpelier show that we are moving in the right direction.

The task now is to accelerate this model, deliver at scale, and ensure that more Dubliners can access the kind of housing security that so many are still being denied.

If you are eligible, I would strongly encourage you to apply when applications open.

Because this is what progress looks like in Dublin today. And we need much more of it.

Public Information

Cost Rental rents at Montpelier will be:

• €1,490 for a one-bedroom apartment
  
  
• €1,695 for a two-bedroom apartment
  
  
• €1,895 for a three-bedroom apartment
  
  

These represent a discount of at least 31% on comparable rents in the area.

Demand is expected to be high, with more than 8,000 individuals having already pre-registered their interest.

Applications will open on March 30th at 2pm via: tuathhousing.ie/cost-rental