6 Septembet 2026
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie

Amend Rent a Room Scheme tax rules to increase the availability of additional rental bedrooms – says Cork based MEP Billy Kelleher

File photo of modern housing

“Serious consideration needs to be given to amending the Rent a Room Scheme to reflect the changing market and to incentivise more rooms to be made available to would-be renters,” argues Fianna Fáil MEP, Billy Kelleher.

“At present, homeowners can rent rooms out in their homes without any tax implications up to a value of €14,000 per year.

“In Q2 2026, according to Daft.ie, the average monthly rent for a double bedroom in Ireland was €806. If a property owner wanted to rent out two rooms, their annual rental income would be €19,344 – exceeding the €14,000 threshold by over €5,000.

“However, the current rules mean that every single euro of rental income would then be subject to tax, rather than just the amount over the €14,000 threshold.

“This is a flaw in the system. At the very least, only the income exceeding the threshold should be taxable.

“This would make homeowners who had additional rooms to rent more likely to make them available. The objective is to increase supply of rooms not to raise tax income.

“Budget 2027 needs to be used cleverly to deal with our housing challenges in Ireland. There are thousands of additional rooms that could be available for rent if changes to the Rent a Room Scheme are made.

“Today, I have written to the Minister for Housing, James Browne requesting that as part of his negotiations with the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Simon Harris, he seeks this change.

“Nothing can be off the table when it comes to housing our people,” concluded Kelleher.