The Green Party will ensure everyone in Ireland can live in a warm, secure, affordable home in a diverse and thriving Irish community.

The Green Party wants to make life better for the thousands of Irish people who are struggling to find a secure place to call home. We believe housing is a fundamental right and that it should be provided in close concert with good planning, proper transport links, nearby schools and accessible healthcare facilities.

Providing affordable homes

• Provide social housing via a cost-rental model
• Increased regional and local engagement in housing provision

The Green Party wants to provide housing that is affordable for all. Our solution is increased provision of new social housing founded on a cost-rental model, and homeownership at a cost equal to no more than 30% of net income, in general. We believe mortgages should be affordable and should not be for longer than 25 years. We believe that local communities are best placed to identify the nature and location of the homes that they need and we will work to optimise planning and local government legislation to support this decision making process.

Increase housing supply

• Reduce vacancy rates through targeted levies; replace Local Property Tax with a Site Value Tax
• Mandate that pension funds invest a proportion of their assets in the delivery of new housing supply

Ireland is experiencing an unprecedented shortage of housing, while at the same time properties lie idle throughout the country due to land hoarding and speculation. The Green Party will reduce vacancy rates and bring refurbished housing back on stream while at the same time ensuring that new houses are built to a high standard.

Empowering renters

• Remove sale of a property as a reason for ending a lease
• Pay rent supplement in advance

People in Ireland who rent their homes need to be empowered to ensure that they can live in decent accommodation with peace of mind. We want to provide rent certainty for people, including rent controls where appropriate, longer leases and security of tenure. We believe that a stable private rental sector requires a strengthening of the PRTB dispute resolution section in addressing issues concerning both tenants and landlords.

Better built homes

• Establish an independent building standards regulator
• Exempt people affected by building defects from property taxes

Everyone deserves to live in a well-built home. Increases in housing supply need to be matched with rigorous standards guarantee housing quality. We want to put in place a system to ensure that all building constructed in Ireland will be to the highest standard and to compensate those affected by historic building defects.