If you are a landlord in Ireland, or you own a second property and have been hosting people from Ukraine, the Accommodation Recognition Payment can be easy to misunderstand.
The main point is straightforward. ARP is not rent and it is not a tenancy workaround. The official gov.ie guidance says the payment does not create a landlord and tenant relationship, is not payable where there is a rental agreement in place, and does not automatically give the person staying there tenancy rights.
That distinction matters more in 2026 than it did at the start of the scheme. The monthly rate was reduced in 2025, late backdating was capped from 1 January 2026, and from 3 March 2026 new ARP applications linked to RTB-registered properties no longer qualify.
Quick answer
As of the official guidance updated on 2 March 2026, the Accommodation Recognition Payment is a tax-free payment of €600 per eligible property, paid monthly in arrears. It is available for qualifying hosting arrangements for people who arrived in Ireland under the EU Temporary Protection Directive.
For landlords, the key legal and practical point is that ARP is for hosting, not renting. If there is a rental agreement with the person being accommodated, ARP does not apply.
From 3 March 2026, new applications also no longer qualify where the property has been registered with the RTB at any time since 4 March 2022. Tenants in rental properties can no longer make new ARP applications either.
If the arrangement is a normal letting, the safer approach is to treat it as a tenancy and follow the Residential Tenancies Acts, RTB registration rules, and the notice and rent-setting rules that go with them. If that is the situation you are dealing with, this related guide may help: New Landlord Rules Ireland: a landlord and property manager guide from 1 March 2026.
A brief history of the ARP scheme
The Accommodation Recognition Payment began in July 2022 after large numbers of people fled the war in Ukraine and came to Ireland under Temporary Protection.
The scheme is provided for in Part 2 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022. Its purpose was to recognise people who opened their homes or qualifying vacant properties to temporary protection beneficiaries. It was never designed to replace market rent.
In the earlier form of the scheme, the published eligibility guidance stated that the applicant could be the owner of or a tenant in the accommodation, as long as there was no rental agreement with the people being hosted.
What changed in 2025
The biggest 2025 change was the payment rate.
On 25 March 2025, government announced its intention to extend the scheme to the end of March 2026 and to reduce the monthly payment from €800 to €600 from 1 June 2025. Because the payment is made in arrears, the first payment at the lower rate was due on 8 July 2025.
The official guidance also continued to state that ARP is:
- tax-free
- disregarded for means-testing for social welfare and certain public body supports
- paid per eligible property, not per person hosted
That reduction also signalled a stronger policy line between humanitarian hosting and the ordinary rental market.
What changed in 2026
Two 2026 changes matter most for landlords and property owners.
Backdating was limited from 1 January 2026
From 1 January 2026, late applications can only be backdated for up to six months from the date of application, provided the applicant was otherwise eligible during that period.
In practical terms, that means a delayed application can no longer reach back indefinitely. There is now a hard six-month cap.
New applications tied to RTB-registered properties were blocked from 3 March 2026
This is the key 2026 tenancy-overlap change.
The gov.ie ARP guidance updated on 2 March 2026 says that, from 3 March 2026, new applications will not qualify where the property has been registered with the Residential Tenancies Board at any time since 4 March 2022.
The same guidance says that tenants in rental properties can no longer make new applications for the scheme.
For landlords, that means ARP is no longer available as a new claim for a property that has been inside the RTB system during that period. The line is now much sharper: ARP is aimed at genuine hosting in your own home or in a qualifying vacant property, not at ordinary rented accommodation.
ARP and tenancy law are not the same thing
This is the point most likely to cause confusion.
The official ARP guidance says the payment:
- is not intended to substitute rent
- does not create a landlord and tenant relationship
- does not create an obligation on the hosted person to pay rent
- does not automatically give the hosted person a tenancy
The guidance also allows for a hosted person to contribute towards costs such as utilities and food. That is not the same thing as rent.
If a host starts charging rent and operating the arrangement as an ordinary let, they are moving away from the ARP model and into tenancy territory. At that point, ARP should not be treated as the governing framework.
ARP or tenancy?
| Hosting under ARP | Standard tenancy |
|---|---|
| State payment of €600 per eligible property each month in arrears | Rent paid by the tenant under a rental agreement |
| No rental agreement with the person being hosted | Rental agreement in place |
| No automatic landlord and tenant relationship created by ARP | Residential tenancy relationship applies |
| Intended for your own home or a qualifying vacant property | Intended for ordinary private rental accommodation |
| From 3 March 2026, no new claim if the property has been RTB-registered since 4 March 2022 | RTB registration is part of ordinary tenancy compliance |
Why this matters for landlords
For Irish landlords, the practical message is simple.
If the arrangement is a tenancy, deal with it as a tenancy. If it is genuine hosting without a rental agreement, ARP may still be relevant if the property meets the current eligibility rules.
The 2026 change closed off the clearest area of overlap by excluding new ARP claims for properties that have been registered with the RTB since 4 March 2022 and by excluding new tenant-led claims in rental properties.
That is a narrower position than the scheme’s earlier rules. The older guidance expressly allowed, in some cases, for a tenant to qualify where there was no rental agreement with the hosted person. The current position for new applications is tighter.
Can existing ARP hosts keep claiming?
The official 2 March 2026 guidance is framed around new applications. Based on that wording, the clearest reading is that the restriction closes the door to new claims in those categories.
The guidance page I checked does not say that every existing approved claim in those categories ended automatically on 3 March 2026. That is an inference from the current wording, not an express statement that existing claims continue unchanged.
If you already have an approved ARP arrangement, the safe approach is to check any direct correspondence from the Department of Social Protection and to review the current gov.ie guidance before assuming the position has stayed the same.
Practical checklist for landlords
- Confirm whether the arrangement is truly hosting or is in substance a tenancy.
- Check whether the property has been registered with the RTB at any time since 4 March 2022.
- Do not rely on ARP if there is a rental agreement with the person in occupation.
- If you are making a late application, check whether the six-month backdating cap now limits what can be claimed.
- Keep ARP and tenancy-law compliance separate instead of trying to blend the two.
Short FAQ
Is ARP the same as rent?
No. The official guidance says ARP is not intended to substitute rent and is not payable where there is a rental agreement in place.
Can a landlord make a new ARP claim for an RTB-registered property?
No, not under the current eligibility rules for new applications from 3 March 2026. The gov.ie guidance says new applications do not qualify where the property has been registered with the RTB at any time since 4 March 2022.
Can utility contributions still be agreed?
Yes. The official guidance says hosted people may agree to contribute towards costs such as utilities and food. That is different from paying rent.
What is the current ARP rate?
As of the guidance updated on 2 March 2026, the rate is €600 per eligible property, paid monthly in arrears.