Social housing applicants must prove they are resident in the State under new rules

New bill will say applicants must be lawfully resident and habitually resident in the State in order to receive supports

'The new habitual residency requirement will ensure all social housing applicants have a close link to the State and have made Ireland their home.'

A new law will require social housing applicants to prove that they have been resident in the State.

Housing minister James Browne has confirmed his department will bring forward the Housing and Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 to make amendments to the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 by adding lawful residency and habitual residency to eligibility criteria for social housing supports.

The bill introducing the amendments, to be published this week, will set out the lawful residency criteria for each citizenship type — Irish, UK, EU/EEA, non EU/EEA (granted subsidiary protection, refugee, permission to remain, programme refugee) and other non-EU/EEA nationals.

It will say applicants must be lawfully resident and habitually resident in the State in order to receive supports. 

Mr Browne said in a statement the move would make clearer the supports which each person is entitled to.

“Residency requirements already exist in practice but are now being placed on a firm statutory basis. However, underpinning the policy on a statutory footing brings clarity to the eligibility of social housing supports for all applicants and will ensure consistency with immigration policy.

“This bill should have little material effect on the numbers accessing social housing, given it is effectively existing policy. 

"By placing it on a statutory footing, it will ensure that successful applicants have a long-term right to reside in the State. The new habitual residency requirement will ensure all social housing applicants have a close link to the State and have made Ireland their home.”

In a recent Dáil debate, Tánaiste Simon Harris rejected the idea newly-arrived migrants had an automatic right to housing. 

Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae said "people coming from other parts of the world are very welcome to come here if they are coming here to work but it should never be the case that they can come in here, get a payment right away, get on the social housing list and compete with our own people who were born and reared here".

"We must look after our own people first," Mr Healy-Rae said.

Mr Harris replied, however, there was no automatic right to housing.

"I always believe in an honest debate around migration but the honest debate has to be grounded in facts. People who arrive in Ireland from abroad through a variety of circumstances do not have an automatic right to social housing. 

"The deputy knows that too and he knows that in Kerry as well. People from Ukraine contribute very significantly to our economy as well."

The bill also puts in place a new statutory appeals mechanism for local authority decisions relating to social housing eligibility and assessment in general. 

In October 2025, the Government approved amendments to introduce an appeals process for decisions relating to assessment for social housing. 

Provisions are now incorporated into the new bill setting out the appeals mechanism and stipulating each local authority will appoint an appeals officer to decide on cases, independent in the performance of his or her regular functions.

They must decide the appeal within 28 days of receipt of the appeal.