If you’re wondering why a recent report from PTSB alluded to a growing number of putative house buyers opting instead to go on social housing lists, you could consider the following.
In Dublin 18, a range of homes were launched to the market at Kiln View in Clay Farm, at prices of about €475,000 for a two-bed apartment back in 2023. Based on a 10 per cent deposit, you’d need income of about €106,000 to qualify for a mortgage for this home, and you would be taking on monthly repayments of about €2,000 based on a 30-year mortgage at 4 per cent.
This is out of reach for many – even with Government incentives such as Help to Buy.
But the new development also has a social housing element, consisting of 35 one-bedroom and 20 two-bedroom apartments.
And one of these was recently advertised via Dún Laoghaire Rathdown’s Choice Based Letting service, which allows those on the local authority’s housing list to apply for properties as they come up.
Getting such a property means the rents will be set dependent on your income – and will likely be a fraction of the aforementioned mortgage repayments. You won’t own the apartment but you will have security of tenure.
Of course, social housing has many restrictions not just on eligibility, but also on where you might be offered a home. And you could face several years on a waiting list before you actually get a home. Figures show that as many as one-in-five applicants are on the list for more than seven years.
And yet.
Where once looking for social housing was, for most people, a last resort, these days, for a new generation, going on the social housing list is seen as a hedge against future property price rises and increasing unaffordability.
Get a place before your income gets too high and you’ll be set, is the view – and if not, it may be the case that your income by that point will be enough to rent/buy in the private market.
It’s a logical step for many, given continued property price hikes in the private market, the difficulties many perceive in buying their first home and the Government’s continued interventions on the social side through cost rentals, affordable homes and social housing.
If Government money is pouring into this side of the market, why not chase it?
Look at developers Glenveagh and Cairn. Delivery of social and other supported housing such as cost rental has become a growing part of their businesses. In 2024, Glenveagh assigned revenues of some €120 million to its “partnership” division – up from €17 million in 2023.
Here, we consider the new trend, and look at who qualifies for social housing.
Changing character
The report from PTSB found a big jump in would-be house buyers applying for social housing. According to the report, almost half (46 per cent) of putative house buyers are now considering applying for social housing amid affordability concerns. This rises to 61 per cent among 18- to 24-year-olds.
About a fifth of respondents say they are considering social housing for the first time because the private home ownership market has become so challenging.
This trend is borne out in figures supplied by the Housing Agency, which show that there was a “relatively larger increase” in households applying for social housing aged under 30 last year compared to 2023. This was mainly driven by an increase of about 10 per cent in applicants aged under 26, and a 7.4 per cent increase in applicants aged 25 to 29.
Reflecting that new cohort of applicants, the numbers eligible who are unemployed is falling. Back in 2016, almost six-in-10 applicants were unemployed; last year, it had fallen to fewer than one-in-five.
Moreover, almost one-in-four applicants now derive their income from “employment only” – with no social welfare benefits.
Households living with parents, relatives and friends collectively represent 21,919 family groups (or 36.6 per cent of all households on the list).
There has also been an increase in single adult applications – up by 2,670, or by 8 per cent, on 2023.
And fewer applicants are renting – down by 10 per cent on 2023 – with more living at home with their parents, up by 4 per cent on 2023.
Location
As well as the existing stock of social housing in the State, construction or acquisition of new social houses continues at pace. Last year, more than 10,500 social homes were added to the total stock, according to the Department of Housing.
Many of these are in new developments, where social housing is peppered among private properties. While social residents may not always have the same access to amenities as private residents, these properties are built to a high spec.
For example, in Shanganagh, south Dublin, 200 social homes are being built in a development of almost 600 homes, with affordable and cost rental properties also included in the mix.
Figures from Dublin City Council from February of this year show that the council has almost 4,000 units currently under construction under Part V – which mandates that developers must hand over a certain proportion of a housing development for social housing.
Eligibility
To sign up for a local authority’s social housing list, you must meet a number of criteria. You must be already living in the area, or have a local connection, and your income must be below the threshold set in that area.
You must also show that you do not have suitable alternative accommodation.
You can only apply to one housing authority – but you can specify two other areas of choice – and you must have a long-term right to remain in Ireland.
Typically, councils are understood to favour families, older people or those who are homeless, so applying on your own as a younger person will likely take longer.
Overall, demand from eligible households for social housing has dipped over the past decade. Figures from the Housing Agency show that the numbers have fallen by 31,659 households (34.6 per cent) compared to September 2016. Moreover, some 13 out of the 31 local authorities recorded a decrease in numbers in 2024.
Last year, about 60,000 households qualified for social housing. In total, figures from 2023 show that the total stock of social housing homes is about 61,500.
The report showed that the largest decreases in households on the social housing waiting list from 2023 to 2024 were in Monaghan, Kilkenny and Meath. On the other hand, sharp increases were recorded in Galway city, Donegal and Leitrim.
In Dublin, the four local authorities have 24,598 households on their waiting lists.
And a considerable number of those on waiting lists have been there for some time – about 11,500 of the 60,000 or so waiting were on the list for more than seven years.
Remember, while you wait, you will be eligible for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) which can be used to reduce rents paid in the private market.
Of course the more people who apply for social housing, the longer the lists might get.
To assess eligibility, the local authority will look at your net (ie after tax) income in the previous 12 months to your application. Different income limits apply around the State (see table).
But remember, these are after tax figures. So, a single person earning about €51,000 a year gross, for example, may qualify in Dublin. In Clare, a single applicant could earn up to €42,000 and qualify.
And, if there are other people in the households, these limits are increased. An additional adult, for example, will increase the Dublin figure of €40,000 to €42,000 or to €44,000 for two adults.
Where there are children, the limit will increase by 2.5 per cent. So a family of five (two adults/three children) could have an after tax income limit of €45,000 in Dublin.
If you have savings, these are only taken into consideration if they produce an income – such as via dividends or interest. In addition, certain benefit payments – for example children’s allowance, fuel allowance and back to work family dividend – are excluded from the income calculation.
These limits may be subject to change. Following a report assessing social housing income eligibility commissioned by the Housing Agency, the department is now looking at “how the social housing income limits system interacts with other housing supports and ensure that they continue to target households correctly”.
Once your income goes past these limits, you will no longer be eligible for social housing even if you are already on the waiting list. According to a spokeswoman from Dublin City Council, before it offers a home, it will review in full “the social housing assessment carried out in respect of that household”.
If, however, you already have a social housing home, your eligibility will not be reassessed should your income increase, though your rent will be.
Cost
Unlike say cost rental, where the local authority rents out properties at below market rates but ones that are fixed nonetheless, when it comes to social housing, rates are set dependent on what a household can afford through a system known as differential rents.
“If your income is low, your rent payment will reflect this and will be low,” says the Housing Agency.
In south Dublin for example, a minimum weekly rent of €25 is set. Cork County Council gives the example of a family of four with weekly income of €420.70 who would pay a weekly rent of €67.50.
