871. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the up-to-date position regarding take up of the landlord relief; the cost of the relief; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63906/26]

I understand that the Deputy’s question refers to the Residential Premises Rental Income Relief (RPRIR).

Landlords are an essential feature of a functioning housing market. Rising rents are driven by a shortage of supply, so stabilising and increasing the supply of rental properties should ease upward pressure on rental prices and make it easier for prospective tenants to find affordable homes.

Section 21 of Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 introduced the Residential Premises Rental Income Relief (RPRIR). It is an income tax relief at the standard rate of income tax for individual landlords of rented residential property. The purpose of this relief is to provide an incentive for landlords, specifically targeted at attracting and retaining small-scale landlords in the private sector.

The relief is as follows:

• €3,000 in the tax year 2024;

• €4,000 in the tax year 2025;

• €5,000 in the tax year 2026 and

• €5,000 in the tax year 2027.

This equates to a tax credit of up to €600 in year one, €800 in year two and €1,000 in years three and four. The relief is capped at the individual’s tax liability on rental income from residential property. The credit is available to individual landlords of residential rental properties.

The relief was introduced in 2024. Data are available only in relation to tax year 2024, the first year for which this credit is claimable. In 2024, 58,820 taxpayer units availed of the relief and the cost to the Exchequer was €35.5m. Data for 2025 will be available in mid-2027, when the filing deadline of 31 October 2026 has passed and sufficient time has been allowed for the processing of the data and the compilation of data for analysis.

The RPRIR is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2027. The Programme for Government commits to "continue the landlord tax credit".