Cost Rental Feasibility Calculator
Test whether a cost rental scheme stacks up: development cost vs the 25% below market rule, across STAR, CREL and the AHF.
Learn more → Cost Rental Since 2021
COST RENTAL IN IRELAND
Ireland's First Cost Rental Homes, and How Cost Rental Schemes Run Today
Cost rental arrived in Ireland in 2021, when the Affordable Housing Act 2021 put it on a statutory footing and the first homes were advertised to applicants. Rentalize did not deliver those first schemes. Today Rentalize Select takes cost rental applications and runs allocations with a full audit trail, and Rentalize Core runs the tenancies afterwards.
Cost Rental Timeline
Live
2021
Affordable Housing Act 2021 puts cost rental on a statutory footing, and the first homes are advertised
2022
Rentalize platform goes live with Meath County Council for affordable purchase, then under the FairSelect brand
2024
Rentalize Software Limited incorporated in Dublin (CRO 765596)
2025
More than 4,800 cost rental homes delivered nationally by the end of September (Department of Housing)
Today
More than 6,000 applications processed on Rentalize Select across housing schemes, with zero downtime through intake peaks
2021
Cost Rental Launched in Ireland
6,000+
Applications Processed on Rentalize Select
99.97%
Platform uptime
Zero
Downtime Through Intake Peaks
OUR STORY
Where Rentalize Fits in Cost Rental
When Ireland introduced cost rental housing under the Affordable Housing Act 2021, each provider needed a way to take applications, check eligibility and allocate homes fairly when demand far exceeds supply.
Rentalize Select grew out of the same problem in affordable purchase. The platform has run Meath County Council's affordable purchase portal since 2022, originally under the FairSelect brand.
For cost rental providers today, Select takes applications, collects documents and runs allocations with a full audit trail. Automated cost rental eligibility checks and CREL reporting are on the roadmap, not in the product today.
"Rentalize did not deliver Ireland's first cost rental homes. What we do is run applications and allocations for housing schemes, in production since 2022."
Rentalize, 2026
6,000+
Applications Processed
2022
In Production Since
Full
Audit Trail per Decision
24/7
Always Available
PLATFORM CAPABILITIES
Everything You Need to Run Cost Rental Schemes
From advertising properties to selecting tenants, Rentalize runs the application and allocation side of a cost rental scheme.
End-to-End Application Management
The complete workflow from the moment a property is advertised to the final selection of tenants. Every step tracked, auditable, and transparent.
- Online application portal
- Multi-step form with conditional logic
- Automated status notifications
- Real-time application tracking
- Bulk processing tools
- Complete audit trail
Eligibility Checks
Applicants declare income and household details on the form, and your team verifies them against current cost rental limits with the documents on file. Automated cost rental eligibility verification is on the roadmap.
Smart Waitlist and Allocation
Priority-based ranking, randomised selection where required, and transparent allocation decisions across multiple developments.
Document Verification
Secure upload and verification of payslips, P60s, bank statements, and tenancy references. Track outstanding documents per applicant.
Reporting and Compliance Dashboard
Real-time dashboards showing application volumes, processing times, allocation status and audit records across all your schemes, exported to PDF or CSV. Prebuilt Housing Agency and Department of Housing returns are not in the product today.
HOW IT WORKS
From Property Listing to Tenant Selection in 5 Steps
1
Advertise
Properties listed with details, rents, and eligibility criteria. Applications open on a set date.
2
Apply
Applicants complete online forms with income, household, and employment details.
3
Verify
Documents uploaded and checked by staff against current limits. Automated cost rental eligibility checks are on the roadmap.
4
Allocate
Qualified applicants ranked and allocated to available homes fairly and transparently.
5
Onboard
Tenancy agreements, digital lease signing and rent set-up in Rentalize Core.
APPLICANT COMMUNICATIONS
Keep Every Applicant Informed, Automatically
Built-in communication tools ensure transparency between your team and applicants at every stage of the process.
Portal Messaging with direct communication between staff and applicants, plus full notification support.
Automated Notifications so applicants always know their current status without needing to call or email.
Email and SMS Templates for sending updates, document requests, and allocation offers directly from the platform.
Activity Logs providing a complete record of every action taken on each application by both staff and applicants.
Applicant self-service portal
Real-time application status updates
Bulk email and SMS to all applicants
Custom notification templates
Document request workflows
Full audit trail of all communications
Cost Rental Eligibility Calculator
Check if your applicants meet cost rental income thresholds. Our free calculator covers all current limits for Dublin, Cork, Galway, and other areas across Ireland.
SECURITY AND COMPLIANCE
Bank-Level Protection for Sensitive Applicant Data
AWS Infrastructure
Enterprise cloud hosting with 256-bit encryption, automated backups, and distributed architecture for zero single points of failure.
GDPR Compliant
Built-in consent management, right to be forgotten, data portability, and privacy impact assessments for all applicant information.
Role-Based Access
Granular permission controls ensure staff only see what they need. Regular security audits and penetration testing validate our defences.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Cost rental is a form of affordable housing where tenants pay rent that covers the cost of building and maintaining the property, without any profit margin for the landlord. Rents are typically 25% to 40% below market rates. The scheme was established under the Affordable Housing Act 2021 and is delivered by approved housing bodies and local authorities.
No. Rentalize did not deliver Ireland's first cost rental homes, and we do not claim to have. Our own production history starts in 2022 with Meath County Council's affordable purchase portal, originally under the FairSelect brand. Today Rentalize Select takes cost rental applications and runs allocations with a full audit trail, and Rentalize Core runs the tenancies.
It is built for intake peaks. Rentalize Select has processed more than 6,000 applications with zero downtime through intake peaks, including a single week of 4,600.
Not today. Applicants declare income, household and ownership details on the form, and your team verifies them against current cost rental limits with the documents on file. Automated cost rental eligibility verification is on the roadmap, not in the product today.
After your team has checked eligibility and documents, qualified applicants are ranked using configurable criteria set by the housing provider. The platform supports priority-based allocation, randomised selection, or a combination of both. Every decision is fully documented for transparency and audit compliance.
Yes. Rentalize Select runs applications and allocations for local authorities and approved housing bodies, and has run Meath County Council's affordable purchase portal since 2022. The system adapts to different scheme rules, with configurable workflows for each provider type.
GET STARTED
Run Cost Rental Applications and Allocations on Rentalize Select
See Select on your own scheme rules, with the roadmap items stated plainly.