Dublin to pay 800 euros to people offering homes to Ukrainian refugees

Ireland is currently going through a major rental housing crisis

Local authorities in Dublin are looking for vacant homes to house Ukrainian refugees, offering landlords a non-taxable payment of 800 euros per month. Ireland has seen a strong flow of people fleeing the Russian invasion with around 60,000 people currently registered in the country.

Ireland is currently suffering through a severe rental housing shortage, centred around student and affordable housing, that has spilt over to refugee accommodation. In October, the government announced that it would no longer be able to guarantee accommodation for all Ukrainians arriving in the country, as processing centres were overcrowded and so were emergency shelter options.

Taking part in the refugee scheme

In a bid to unburden the system and find more housing, local authorities have decided to offer homeowners special financial incentives to take in more refugees. Authorities are looking for vacation homes or vacant property that is suitable for living, in turn, they offer owners 800 euros of non-taxable monthly payments starting from 1 December.

To participate in the scheme, people can contact their local councils or a special website. Authorities will then make their offer and follow with an assessment of the property shortly after. The assessment is to ensure the property is habitable and to get some details so it can be matched to the most appropriate person or family.

Ireland’s crushing housing crisis

At the same time, however, the country is going through a very severe rental housing shortage, with some analysts claiming a complete market collapse as students returned for the academic year. According to a report by Daft.ie, in August Dublin, a city of 2 million people, had only 300 properties to rent.

In October, the Irish Student Union staged a walkout from lectures to protest the government’s inaction towards the housing situation.

This prompted the Irish Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris to propose a scheme where citizens can rent out part of their homes to students. These new landlords would be able to earn up to 14,000 euros from the rent, before having to pay taxes.