Drop in number of households needing social housing but almost 62,000 still on list
Last year the State delivered just over 5,000 new build social homes. By Michelle Hennessy Tuesday 9 Mar 2021, 5:35 PM Mar 9th 2021, 5:35 PM 12,744 Views 25 Comments
Image: Shutterstock
Image: Shutterstock
THE GOVERNMENT HAS reported a continued drop during the Covid-19 pandemic in the number of households on the social housing waiting list, despite failing to meet targets last year for new builds.
Over the 17 month period from June 2019 to November 2020, there was an almost 10% reduction in the number of households on the list, which now stands at 61,880.
The social housing list does not include households currently living in local authority rented accommodation or those receiving the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) or Rental Accommodat
Minister OâBrien Publishes 2020 Social Housing Statistics
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh OâBrien TD, has today (9 March 2021) published details of social housing delivery in 2020 alongside the Construction Status Report for 2020.
In 2020 over 24,000 households had their housing need meet through the allocation of a new social home, or through the supports provided by the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS). A total of 7,827 new social homes were delivered in 2020 including 5,073 new build homes, 1,314 targeted acquisitions by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies and 1,440 homes delivered through leasing programmes.
The restrictions and partial shutdown of construction activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the delivery of social homes in 2020, with a number of projects delayed until 2021.