Kerry Differential Rent Calculator

What makes the Kerry scheme different

Kerry County Council revised its differential rent scheme on 7 February 2026, its first change since 2017. The core calculation is unchanged: a €15.50 base rent applies on principal-earner income up to €140 a week, with 20% charged on income above that disregard.

Minimum rents remain among the lowest in Ireland at €10.50 a week for small dwellings (Housing Units and one or two-bed properties) and €15.50 for standard three and four-bed houses.

The €2 per child deduction, for children under 16 or under 21 in full-time education, and the subsidiary earner charge of 10% capped at €15 a week per working adult both carry over unchanged. The substantive change is the maximum rent. The previous €83 ceiling is gone.

For 2026 the cap rises to €86 for one-bed, €91 for two-bed, €103 for three-bed and €108 for four or more bedrooms, with Housing Units held at €50.

The caps increase again in 2027, to €112, €118, €134 and €140 respectively, and are removed entirely from 2028, after which rent rises with income with no upper limit for standard dwellings. Higher earners in larger Kerry properties will therefore see rent increase across the three-year transition.

A hardship clause lets the council accept a lesser sum for a specified period where the calculated rent would cause hardship, and where a household's only income is social welfare the guideline is that no more than 15% of any income increase should be absorbed by a rent increase.

Rents are rounded to the nearest €1.

How Kerry's differential rent scheme works

€15.50 base plus 20% on income above €140. Minimums among the lowest in Ireland: €10.50/week for small dwellings (units, 1-2 bed) and €15.50 for standard 3-4 bed houses. 2026 maximum rent rises to €86-€108 by bedroom count (Housing Units €50), increases again in 2027 and is abolished entirely from 2028. €2/child. Subsidiary 10% capped at €15. Revised 7 February 2026, first update since 2017.

What a Kerry tenant would pay at different income levels

Calculated from Kerry's published scheme rules above, for a single tenant with no dependants. Your actual rent depends on household composition, dependants, subsidiary earners, and any allowable deductions.

Worked examples for Kerry tenants

Six common household profiles, with weekly rent calculated using Kerry's 2026 scheme rules. Figures include child deductions, disregards, and subsidiary earner contributions where applicable.

Kerry compared to nearby councils

How a working tenant on €450 a week net income, with one child, would be charged across Kerry and other South-West councils. Useful when a tenant is considering a transfer or applying for housing across multiple authorities.

What to bring to a Kerry rent review

Kerry typically reviews differential rent annually, and any change in household composition or income should be reported to the housing section within 14 days of the change. The documentation required is broadly the same as other Irish local authorities, with a few Kerry-specific points worth knowing in advance.

Understanding the Kerry differential rent scheme in detail

Differential rent is the system every Irish local authority uses to set rent for social housing tenancies, where the weekly amount you pay is tied to your household income rather than to the open-market value of the home.

The legal foundation sits in Section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, which gives each of the 31 local authorities the power to design and publish its own differential rent scheme.

The result is that the rent paid by two households with identical incomes can differ from one council area to another, sometimes by tens of euro a week, because the rate applied, the income disregard allowed, the way subsidiary earners are treated, and the minimum and maximum weekly rent are all set locally.

The Kerry County Council scheme summarised on this page reflects the rules currently in force and last reviewed in 7 February 2026.

Under the Kerry scheme, the primary earner in a household contributes 20.0% of their assessable income each week toward rent, after the first €140.00 of weekly income has been disregarded, and a base rent of €15.50 a week is added before the percentage is applied.

The minimum weekly rent is set at €10.50, which is the figure most households on Jobseeker's Allowance, the State Pension, or Disability Allowance will land on once their assessable income, dependants, and any allowable deductions have been factored in.

The maximum weekly rent is capped at €108.00, which means higher-earning tenants do not pay above that ceiling even if their incomes continue to rise.

Assessable income is one of the most misunderstood terms in social housing, and it is worth pausing on.

Kerry, like every Irish local authority, counts gross wages, salary, and self-employment earnings, together with the bulk of social welfare payments — Jobseeker's Allowance, One-Parent Family Payment, Disability Allowance, Carer's Allowance, the State Pension (Contributory and Non-Contributory), Invalidity Pension, Widow's or Widower's Pension, Working Family Payment, and similar weekly schemes.

Maintenance payments received under a court order are included. Rental income from a sublet, a room let, or a second property is included.

What is excluded varies but typically covers Child Benefit (Children's Allowance), the Fuel Allowance in many cases, the Domiciliary Care Allowance, certain Foster Care Allowances, and the Living Alone Allowance where applicable.

Some councils disregard the first portion of Working Family Payment, and some give a partial disregard for income earned through Community Employment schemes; Kerry publishes a definitive list which should be consulted before submitting an income review.

Household composition matters as much as income. The principal earner — usually the tenant of record — is assessed at the full primary rate.

Any additional adult in the household who earns is treated as a subsidiary earner, and this is where schemes diverge most sharply across the 31 councils. Kerry charges subsidiary earners at 10.00% of their income, and the contribution from each subsidiary earner is capped at €15.00 a week.

The percentage model scales with ability to pay and is generally fairer than a flat charge, but it requires every earner in the household to be assessed individually.

Either way, a household that takes in a working lodger, a returning adult child, or a partner who starts a new job is required to inform Kerry in writing, usually within 14 days, so the rent can be recalculated.

Dependent children reduce the assessable income figure. Kerry applies a deduction of €2.00 per child per week. The deduction normally applies up to and including the child's 18th birthday, and beyond that for full-time students in approved third-level education up to 23.

Some councils extend the deduction for children with disabilities; this is worth raising directly with the housing officer where it applies.

Where a deduction applies it is taken off the assessable income figure before the percentage rate is calculated, not off the final rent — a subtlety that becomes important when comparing your council letter against the indicative figures in the table further up this page.

Rent reviews are an annual or biennial fixture in every Irish local authority and Kerry is no exception. The review typically asks tenants to submit recent payslips, social welfare receipts, P60s or end-of-year statements, and any documentation relating to changes in household composition.

Where income has risen since the last review the new rent applies from a specified date, usually the start of the next rent week.

Where income has fallen — for example, after redundancy, the end of Working Family Payment, or the birth of a child — the tenant should request an interim review rather than waiting for the annual cycle; the recalculated rent applies from the date Kerry receives the documentation, not from the date income changed, so prompt notification matters.

Failure to declare a change in circumstance can result in retrospective arrears and, in serious cases, tenancy enforcement.

It is also worth understanding how differential rent fits alongside the other housing supports administered by Kerry.

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is the primary scheme used when a household qualifies for social housing support but is housed in the private rental market; the council pays HAP to the landlord and the household pays a differential rent contribution to the council, calculated using the same rules as council-owned tenancies.

The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is a longer-term contractual model with private landlords that also uses differential rent for the tenant contribution.

Cost rental, by contrast, is a separate scheme entirely — rent is set as a function of the building's cost, not the household's income, and is delivered primarily through Approved Housing Bodies and the Land Development Agency rather than through the council's general housing stock.

The figures generated by this calculator apply to council and HAP tenancies; cost-rental rents follow a different methodology and are covered on our cost-rental calculator page.

Finally, a note on accuracy. The figures shown in the indicative table and produced by the calculator are estimates calibrated to the published scheme rules.

They are useful for planning — for understanding how a pay rise, a new household member, or a change in welfare payments will affect rent, or for comparing what a household would pay across different council areas.

They are not a substitute for the official rent letter issued by Kerry, which incorporates any local discretion, transitional arrangements, or specific deductions that apply to your tenancy.

If the figure produced here diverges significantly from your council letter, the council letter is correct and the most common reason for divergence is an income source, deduction, or household member that the calculator was not told about.

The housing officer at Kerry can talk you through how the figure was arrived at line by line, and any tenant has the right to request that breakdown in writing.

What income Kerry counts

Common questions about Kerry rent

Differential rent in other councils

Other councils in South-West and beyond. Compare any council in the all-in-one differential rent calculator, or browse the rent calculators by county directory covering all 31 local authorities.