ieExplains: What are the new rules around social housing eligibility?

Bill to be published by Government this week to set out criteria for eligibility for social housing

Because social housing is defined as a long-term housing support, successful applicants must demonstrate a long-term right to reside in the State and have a long-term intention to remain in Ireland as their home.

New laws around social housing eligibility will be published by the Government this week.

But, what are they and what do they cover?

According to a statement from the Government on Monday, Housing minister James Browne will bring 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 support".

The bill will require people to be lawfully and habitually resident in the country to be able to qualify for social housing.

But what does lawfully resident mean?

Because social housing is defined as a long-term housing support, successful applicants must demonstrate a long-term right to reside in the State and have a long-term intention to remain in Ireland as their home.

What does habitually resident mean?

The bill also provides for the introduction of habitual residency as a new eligibility criterion. The bill aims to "ensure social housing support recipients are resident in the State, have close links to the State, and have made Ireland their home".

It will mean applicants will have to show they have established his or her ‘centre of interest’ in the State by examining family connections, length of stay, employment history and other factors. 

New applicants and those who are being reassessed after the legislation is commenced will need to meet this new requirement, which the department said "will not be onerous for those already assessed for social housing, given that they are likely to already be present in the State for a significant period of time".

Does that mean some people can't apply?

Yes, but that is existing policy. For example, those who have applied for international protection but have yet to receive a decision, anyone who has a deportation or a return order against them, those with immigration permissions that do not permit them accessing certain social and public services and those on certain temporary permissions like temporary protection, the classification under which Ukrainian people fall.

Why bring in the bill?

It has long been the policy that anyone successful in applying for social housing has to show a long-term entitlement to reside in the State. The bill will not change this, but will make it legally underpinned and does introduce a new policy — habitual residency. This is to ensure social housing support recipients are "resident in the State, have close links to the State, and have made Ireland their home", the Department of Housing says. Effectively, this bill is about putting into law what is already practice.

What are the residency requirements for non-EU nationals?

Non-EU nationals who have not been granted subsidiary protection, refugee status, permission to remain, or who are programme refugees, must be lawfully resident for a period, or combined periods, comprising a total of at least five years during last eight years.

Are there people on the waiting list who are not entitled to social housing now?

According to the Department of Housing, any successful applicant must show a long-term right to reside in the State, so while they may be on the list, they could not claim supports. 

According to the most recent summary of social housing applications, the majority of main applicants continue to be Irish citizens (71.3%, or 43,991 households). A total of 8,820 households, or 14.3% of applicants, are citizens of other countries within the EEA. There was an increase in 2025 of 860 households with main applicants from non-EEA countries, bringing the total to 8,142 households, or 13.2% of total households.

What about Ukrainian refugees resident under the Temporary Protection Directive?

Ukrainian refugees in Ireland are under the EU Temporary Protection Directive, which runs to next March. Anyone here under this permission is not regarded as being habitually resident in the State for the purposes of social housing support due to the temporary nature of the permission.

What about asylum seekers or Ipas residents?

IPAS residents whose application has yet to be determined, are not considered lawfully or habitually resident for the purposes of social housing support. Those given refugee status, subsidiary protection or permission to remain, and refugees under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme automatically qualify for assessment because they have been granted a long-term right to remain in the State but must be habitually resident.

Will this reduce the numbers of people accessing social housing?

The introduction of this bill will "have little material effect on the numbers accessing social housing", the department says.