Local Authority/Social Housing
There are two main providers of social housing in Ireland – local authorities who are the main suppliers and the voluntary and co-operative housing sector who have a much smaller housing stock. Social housing is regarded as a support for people who need housing but cannot afford to rent or buy their own homes.
Local authorities decide who to allocate their housing to on the basis of an assessment of a households need which only they (the local authorities) can undertake. You can consult this document, Housing Circular 41/2012 , Access to social housing supports for non-Irish nationals – including clarification re Stamp 4 holders which outlines the conditions that people who are not Irish must meet in order to be considered for access to social housing.
If a household is assessed as in need of housing and eligible for support from the local authority they are placed on the authority’s housing waiting list. Waiting lists for local authority housing tend to be long and a person may be waiting a number of years for accommodation, depending on the area in which they apply. While awaiting support from the local authority, households may be able to avail of a rent supplement from the Department of Social Protection to live in private rented accommodation.
If a local authority allocates one of their houses/apartments to a household/person in need of support, that person will pay a proportion of their income to the local authority (called a differential rent). Information on how a local authority calculates this differential rent can be found on local authority websites.
The voluntary and co-operative housing sector allocate their housing to households already placed on local authority waiting lists. Their rents are calculated on a similar basis to local authorities.
Local authorities also operate a social housing support scheme which is known as the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS). The scheme is for people who are receiving rent supplement on a long term basis, usually for more than 18 months. For more information see the following page on the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government's website.
An immigrant must have a legal right to remain in the State on a long-term basis or have acquired the right of permanent residence here (such as a person who has been granted refugee status through the asylum process), before they can be considered for social housing support. Persons not legally resident are precluded by legislation from receipt of rent supplement. Persons who are currently seeking asylum are not eligible to apply for social housing supports.
Work permit holders who reside in Ireland are not entitled to housing supports (this does not apply to EEA nationals who hold work permits).
In general, people from the European Economic Area (the European Union and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) are entitled to seek housing supports on the same basis as an Irish citizen if they are workers. Self-employed persons have the same rights as workers. It should be noted that some former workers or self-employed persons retain their status in certain circumstances:
- They have established an entitlement to permanent residence here.
- They have established a right to rent supplement income support under the Social Welfare Acts.
For more information on access to social and affordable housing supports for immigrants, see this Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government Circular.
For more information about accommodation in this sector as well as other types of social housing available, visit the website of the Citizen’s Information Centre.
Find the contact details of your local authority on the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government website at this link.
