KILCULLEN, Tuesday — Thousands of Irish workers earn enough to pay a mortgage every month. The problem is they cannot get one. A new scheme launched in Co Kildare is trying to change that, one home at a time.
Rent-to-own platform Homely has made its first homes available in Kildare, launching seven units at Riverside Manor, an 180-home A-rated development on the banks of the River Liffey in Kilcullen. The properties range from one-bedroom apartments to three-bedroom duplexes. Rents start at €1,800 a month.
HomeAway has already received around 4,500 applications nationally since launching. Its first customer completed the full journey earlier this year — moving from renter to homeowner on a property bought for €970,000. Most homes on the platform are expected to sit between €350,000 and €400,000.
Who Gets Left Behind by the Current System
The platform is explicitly targeting what it calls the “forgotten middle” — people who sit in a gap that neither the rental market nor the mortgage system is designed to serve.
Homely’s typical applicant is aged between 22 and 45, earning a stable income but without a large deposit or family financial support. They may be self-employed, recently returned from abroad, going through a separation, or simply unable to demonstrate the specific repayment history Irish banks currently require. Under Central Bank of Ireland mortgage rules, first-time buyers must provide a 10% deposit and borrow no more than four times their income — with limited exceptions available at lenders’ discretion.
For a worker on the average Irish salary trying to buy a home at the national median price of €390,000, saving a 10% deposit while simultaneously paying market rent in a city where rents average €1,956 a month nationally and nearly €2,700 in Dublin is not a savings challenge. It is a mathematical impossibility.
Homely CEO Andrew Lynch knows the experience from the inside. He co-founded the platform after going through the mortgage application process himself and finding it unworkable for anyone outside a narrow band of employment and financial circumstances. “We quickly realised the system in place wasn’t fit for purpose,” he said. “The mortgage application process wasn’t set up for someone who is self-employed or who had been away for some time.”
How the Model Works
At Riverside Manor, qualifying applicants move into their new home immediately. They pay rent to Homel starting from €1,800 a month plus an additional monthly amount of between €400 and €600. That second payment is not dead money. It goes toward building their mortgage deposit and, critically, secures their legal right to purchase the property at the end of a three-year term.
At the point of purchase, two further mechanisms work in the buyer’s favour. Homely gives buyers a discount equivalent to 20% of all monthly payments made over the term. And if the property has grown in value during the period which, given Irish house price trends, is historically the more likely outcome buyers receive a further discount based on that appreciation. Together, the two discounts could add up to a saving of 8 to 12% off the final valuation, which counts toward the mortgage deposit requirement.
The setup fee is €10,000. Buyers are not locked in they can walk away at the end of the term with no penalties, request an extension if they are not yet mortgage-ready, or move to a different Homely property if their circumstances change. They can also leave mid-term with standard notice of two to three months.
Lynch said the Kildare launch reflects exactly the kind of market gap the platform was built to fill. “These brand new, high-quality and sustainable homes are being delivered by experienced building partners but are likely to be out of reach for many people who cannot immediately access a mortgage under the current system,” he said.
The Riverside Manor Development
Riverside Manor is a 180-unit development built by Alchemy Homes in the heart of Kilcullen a town of just over 3,400 people on the River Liffey, identified as the fastest-growing settlement in Co Kildare, having doubled in population since 2002. The development sits within walking distance of the town’s amenities and the Liffey walking routes, with road access to Naas, Newbridge and the M9 motorway.
All homes carry an A2 Building Energy Rating, with high insulation, airtight construction and solar PV panels available. Every unit is covered by HomeBond’s 10-year structural guarantee.
The initial Homely scheme at Riverside Manor covers seven units, with the potential to expand depending on demand. It is Homely’s first presence in Kildare, and part of a broader expansion that already covers Dublin, Meath, Limerick and Laois.
Why Kildare — and Why Now
Kilcullen sits in the commuter belt southwest of Dublin close enough to the capital to be practical for workers, far enough that prices remain significantly below the Dublin median of €500,000. For workers who cannot afford Dublin but are reluctant to extend their commute further, towns like Kilcullen represent one of the few remaining windows of relative affordability within reach of the capital.
That window is closing. The CSO confirmed that house prices in the Midlands and commuter counties are now rising faster than Dublin 15.3% in the Midlands in the year to February 2026 compared to 5.6% in the capital. Kildare, as part of the greater Dublin catchment, is following the same trajectory.
Lynch said the partnership model with Alchemy Homes is central to making the scheme work at scale. “At Homely, we are using our unique model to create a fair and transparent bridge between renting and owning, with the help of forward-thinking developers who see huge value in partnering with us,” he said. “People can move in today, secure their legal right to buy their new home, and spend the next few years actively working towards it with our support, rather than standing still in the rental market.”
Homely is also increasingly working with developers to secure properties before they are finished, giving applicants the ability to plan their purchase well in advance rather than react to what comes to market.
M10News has been reporting on Ireland’s rental market in 2026 and the record low supply squeezing renters out of cities and towns, on the latest CSO house price data showing prices still rising nationally and on the eviction surge in the wake of Ireland’s new rent reforms.
Editing by M10News Housing Desk | © 2026 M10News. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited.
