How to get a council house

Grab All Association

So you’re Johnny Taxpayer home hunting yet the council keeps out bidding you on everything, and you’re wondering why E.g Offaly [insert own council here] County Council is buying up mostly one off houses (Of better build quality to urban houses) throughout the country?

It’s all to do with the areas you’re looking for housing in.

A large number of applicants are looking around the county to places where there’s no social housing or where there once was and all purchased under various tenant purchase schemes. Rural schools in these areas would have depleting students numbers and will accept your child no questions asked to save losing a teacher. That then gives you a connection to that area and they specifically request accommodation in this area only so as not to interrupt their child’s education. Hence the council buys the property.

Before 2012 you would have to be linked to a certain area, for example a Clonmel resident couldn’t apply to Nenagh town council and vice versa. It’s why councils are buying up property throughout the country in places where you’d never expect them to want to build social housing, never mind own property.

Meanwhile us suckers end up having to buy some overpriced 2 story semi detached with a fireplace in the bedroom on a busy street in a urban centre.

Btw I support social housing when it’s fairly allocated to people in need. Social housing is needed to get those on lower social welfare incomes out of the private rental market, but I don’t believe it’s fair to have the council competing with families trying to buy a home.

ILoveYourVibes

My cousin just moved into a council house. She is a nurse and like most people can't afford to buy a house. She is married to a guy who is working and is expecting their first kid.

Its either they get this house or live with my elderly aunt and uncle.

Grab All Association

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

My cousin just moved into a council house. She is a nurse and like most people can't afford to buy a house. She is married to a guy who is working and is expecting their first kid.

Its either they get this house or live with my elderly aunt and uncle.

The above isn’t your cousin though. Presuming she took what they were offered? Lot more sophisticated a scam this then the likes of Margaret Cash. Congratulations to your cousin. Nor is this thread bashing the vast majority of applicants. It’s to explain why the council is aggressively outbidding people

smellyoldboot

Lose your job/take a pay cut under the income threshold. Lose your home. And wait....and wait.. and wait... Easy right?

Also I hope you are not too fussy about location or neighbours. You sound like you're on to a winner. Best of luck with it.

ILoveYourVibes

Grab All Association wrote: »

The above isn’t your cousin though. Presuming she took what they were offered?

I don't know. She has to be close to the hospital she works at so its possible she explained that.

I mean people do have to be close enough to get to jobs...or have grandparents look after kids while they go to those jobs ..or care for elderly parents who might otherwise be in nursing homes etc etc.

Not everyone is footloose and fancy free. Some have responsibilities. Its something most adults I am sure can empathize with.

Claim you're an ethnic minority and get bumped to the top of the queue. Shout "racist!" if you don't get additional amenities like grazing space. Mission accomplished.

Grab All Association

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Claim you're an ethnic minority and get bumped to the top of the queue. Shout "racist!" if you don't get additional amenities like grazing space. Job done.

To be fair when I worked for a local authority (albeit not housing) the majority of them were shifted from the side of the road and nothing more. This scam is carried out by mostly women/couples in their 30s

ILoveYourVibes

Would you like a council house yourself?

Leg End Reject

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Would you like a council house yourself?

Yes, but I need a stable.

Gremlinertia

Moving to CA/IMHO as it doesn't quite fit in AH

NOTE: new charter applies

freshpopcorn

Ask this lady.
It might involve having about eight children and moving into a Garda Station but you'll get there eventually. Also have a protest about the robbing Government outside the Dáil with a megaphone.

SusieBlue

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

My cousin just moved into a council house. She is a nurse and like most people can't afford to buy a house. She is married to a guy who is working and is expecting their first kid.

Its either they get this house or live with my elderly aunt and uncle.

Your cousin sounds like the exact type of person/family who is deserving of help and a leg up. I don’t think anyone would begrudge a council home going to a young working couple with a baby on the way.

Unfortunately due to a lot of people scamming, defrauding, and manipulating the system, people like your cousin rarely get the help they need and deserve, which is what people take issue with.
I personally would be delighted to see more people and families like your cousin being prioritised over people who take and take yet contribute nothing to the pot.

Gremlinertia

In my situation i won't possibly bring together the deposit for a house. Kind of resigned to rental for life.. Earn too much to be considered in need of anything more than a gp card but not enough to get out of the rental market where my rent is more than my mortgage repayment on the same property would be..

SusieBlue

Gremlinertia wrote: »

In my situation i won't possibly bring together the deposit for a house. Kind of resigned to rental for life.. Earn too much to be considered in need of anything more than a gp card but not enough to get out of the rental market where my rent is more than my mortgage repayment on the same property would be..

Me too. It’s mental how they can refuse someone a mortgage where the repayment would be €700 a month on the grounds that they don’t earn enough, yet we then expect them to pay €1800+ pm on a private rental property indefinitely. It makes zero logical sense.

If I wanted to buy a house where the mortgage was €1800 pm people would say I’m nuts and living far, far beyond my means yet this is what we expect low earners and those on the average wage to pay for a house they’ll never own. It’s just crazy and there’s something very wrong about it.

James Brown

Grab All Association wrote: »

So you’re Johnny Taxpayer home hunting yet the council keeps out bidding you on everything, and you’re wondering why E.g Offaly [insert own council here] County Council is buying up mostly one off houses (Of better build quality to urban houses) throughout the country?

It’s all to do with the areas you’re looking for housing in.

A large number of applicants are looking around the county to places where there’s no social housing or where there once was and all purchased under various tenant purchase schemes. Rural schools in these areas would have depleting students numbers and will accept your child no questions asked to save losing a teacher. That then gives you a connection to that area and they specifically request accommodation in this area only so as not to interrupt their child’s education. Hence the council buys the property.

Before 2012 you would have to be linked to a certain area, for example a Clonmel resident couldn’t apply to Nenagh town council and vice versa. It’s why councils are buying up property throughout the country in places where you’d never expect them to want to build social housing, never mind own property.

Meanwhile us suckers end up having to buy some overpriced 2 story semi detached with a fireplace in the bedroom on a busy street in a urban centre.

Btw I support social housing when it’s fairly allocated to people in need. Social housing is needed to get those on lower social welfare incomes out of the private rental market, but I don’t believe it’s fair to have the council competing with families trying to buy a home.

Problem: The council are buying up around you and giving custom to companies buying/building to rent to councils. This prices johnny taxpayer out of the market.

Solution: Build lower cost basic housing in small estates to use as social. Leaving private companies to sell to private families.

Where's popular shouldn’t come into it. Build were possible and were needed.
I'm from a part of Dublin long considered a working class area. Just because some twats decide its fashionable we need move out communities? And what about when the fashion changes again? Nobody would go near the docks 30 odd years ago. We shouldn't base planning around fashion.

The councils are not buying houses in areas only based on requests from the public.
You're right though the public shouldn't be getting priced out.
The problem is there is less private profit if the councils build their own to rent.
Buying use to be in small numbers and for emergencies.

It's wrong headed to be looking at the tenants. Look at the policy makers. Look at FG's former housing advisor, now a TD, married to the former head of Goldman Sachs active investors in build to rent.
Or stick with moaning about the Sun/Indo chancer of the week, a symptom of poor housing policy.

sasta le

How do you legally become a Traveller or Indigenous Mincéir ( the new trendy PC name being used by Dr Sindy Joyce)
Can someone become a Traveller?

sasta le

Bowie wrote: »

Problem: The council are buying up around you and giving custom to companies buying/building to rent to councils. This prices johnny taxpayer out of the market.

Solution: Build lower cost basic housing in small estates to use as social. Leaving private companies to sell to private families.

Where's popular shouldn’t come into it. Build were possible and were needed.
I'm from a part of Dublin long considered a working class area. Just because some twats decide its fashionable we need move out communities? And what about when the fashion changes again? Nobody would go near the docks 30 odd years ago. We shouldn't base planning around fashion.

The councils are not buying houses in areas only based on requests from the public.
You're right though the public shouldn't be getting priced out.
The problem is there is less private profit if the councils build their own to rent.
Buying use to be in small numbers and for emergencies.

It's wrong headed to be looking at the tenants. Look at the policy makers. Look at FG's former housing advisor, now a TD, married to the former head of Goldman Sachs active investors in build to rent.
Or stick with moaning about the Sun/Indo chancer of the week, a symptom of poor housing policy.

Is it bad if a young couple gets a chance on a area buys and does a house up and then settles there?

Gerry Hatrick

You need to work harder OP to afford a nicer house. Have you thought of upskilling?

eviltwin

Bowie wrote: »

Problem: The council are buying up around you and giving custom to companies buying/building to rent to councils. This prices johnny taxpayer out of the market.

Solution: Build lower cost basic housing in small estates to use as social. Leaving private companies to sell to private families.

Where's popular shouldn’t come into it. Build were possible and were needed.
I'm from a part of Dublin long considered a working class area. Just because some twats decide its fashionable we need move out communities? And what about when the fashion changes again? Nobody would go near the docks 30 odd years ago. We shouldn't base planning around fashion.

The councils are not buying houses in areas only based on requests from the public.
You're right though the public shouldn't be getting priced out.
The problem is there is less private profit if the councils build their own to rent.
Buying use to be in small numbers and for emergencies.

It's wrong headed to be looking at the tenants. Look at the policy makers. Look at FG's former housing advisor, now a TD, married to the former head of Goldman Sachs active investors in build to rent.
Or stick with moaning about the Sun/Indo chancer of the week, a symptom of poor housing policy.

The OP would complain about that too. Social housing is like a tinder box for some who want to feel hard done by no matter what.

smellyoldboot

Gremlinertia wrote: »

In my situation i won't possibly bring together the deposit for a house. Kind of resigned to rental for life.. Earn too much to be considered in need of anything more than a gp card but not enough to get out of the rental market where my rent is more than my mortgage repayment on the same property would be..

Thus. This is a big wrong in our society. I would love to see us use somewhere like Austria as the base model for our social housing policy rather than parrot moves by that increasingly right wing pariah next door to us.

Annasopra

Grab All Association wrote: »

The above isn’t your cousin though. Presuming she took what they were offered? Lot more sophisticated a scam this then the likes of Margaret Cash. Congratulations to your cousin. Nor is this thread bashing the vast majority of applicants. It’s to explain why the council is aggressively outbidding people

Government policy refuses to let them build loads of houses. Thats why.

Pkiernan

smellyoldboot wrote: »

Thus. This is a big wrong in our society. I would love to see us use somewhere like Austria as the base model for our social housing policy rather than parrot moves by that increasingly right wing pariah next door to us.

Let's also bring in the same levels of personal responsibility that the Austrians hold themselves to.

smellyoldboot

Pkiernan wrote: »

Let's also bring in the same levels of personal responsibility that the Austrians hold themselves to.

I am also onboard with this. We should be taking the vast majority of our cultural and societal influence from European nations who have built systems that work rather than our dysfunctional neighbours.

CrankyHaus

eviltwin wrote: »

The OP would complain about that too. Social housing is like a tinder box for some who want to feel hard done by no matter what.

The reason for that is that overall Housing Policy in this country has been a disaster for decades. This has had very negative consequences for very many people, so if they feel hard done by they probably have good reason.

Mr_Muffin

I'll be honest and say I don't really understand how the housing system works. Are council houses for people on lower incomes? What about people who earn a decent wage but can't afford to rent? Can anyone apply for one?

Geuze

Mr_Muffin wrote: »

I'll be honest and say I don't really understand how the housing system works. Are council houses for people on lower incomes? What about people who earn a decent wage but can't afford to rent? Can anyone apply for one?

The test is based on income and housing need.

Eric Cartman

sasta le wrote: »

How do you legally become a Traveller or Indigenous Mincéir ( the new trendy PC name being used by Dr Sindy Joyce)
Can someone become a Traveller?

I want to build a browser extension that hides content from anyone using that word , nothing good can come of me reading those lies.

Eric Cartman

Mr_Muffin wrote: »

I'll be honest and say I don't really understand how the housing system works. Are council houses for people on lower incomes? What about people who earn a decent wage but can't afford to rent? Can anyone apply for one?

anyone can apply for one but the lists are long. Things can boost you up the list

kids (big boost)
disability (alcoholism or drug addiction count)
disabled kids (get them certified by a quack as having ADHD)
your ma being in a council gaf in the same area helps you on that list locally
being a member of a minority community (like the travellers) , its not officially supposed to help, but it absolutely does.
if you've made yourself basically unemployable (left school early, neck and face tattoos, given yourself a substance problem etc..) it also helps as nobody can tell you 'tough luck, go get a job and rent a flat'

theoretically anyone under 50k a year can apply , but the reality of it is an Irish, childless couple with no criminal convictions, kids or addictions who both work 25k a year jobs are going to be bottom of the pile for 15 years before getting a house.

Gregor Samsa

Mr_Muffin wrote: »

I'll be honest and say I don't really understand how the housing system works. Are council houses for people on lower incomes? What about people who earn a decent wage but can't afford to rent? Can anyone apply for one?

It's all laid out here. As Geuze said, it's based on income threshold and need. Once you qualify on those grounds, how long it will take for you to get a house will depend then on supply, the size of the waiting list, and your place on it. Different housing authorities have different income thresholds, but the needs criteria are the same:

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/local_authority_and_social_housing/applying_for_local_authority_housing.html

Ash.J.Williams

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

My cousin just moved into a council house. She is a nurse and like most people can't afford to buy a house. She is married to a guy who is working and is expecting their first kid.

Its either they get this house or live with my elderly aunt and uncle.

that's where we are, i recall leo getting a lot of online abuse when he suggested 80k per annum wasn't a big salary any more and he was dead right.

Thelonious Monk

Pkiernan wrote: »

Let's also bring in the same levels of personal responsibility that the Austrians hold themselves to.

I have family in Austria and spent a good bit of time there years ago. It's a different ball park altogether. They don't have the whole scumbag entitlement culture like we have in Ireland. People don't even litter. It's apples and oranges.

ELM327

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I have family in Austria and spent a good bit of time there years ago. It's a different ball park altogether. They don't have the whole scumbag entitlement culture like we have in Ireland. People don't even litter. It's apples and oranges.

And they spend less per capita than we do on social welfare, despite being a welfare state.

https://www.austria.org/the-welfare-state

Mrs OBumble

Eric Cartman wrote: »

.... childless couple with no criminal convictions, kids or addictions who both work 25k a year jobs are going to be bottom of the pile for 15 years before getting a house.

If someone is only on 25k, they're only just getting started in a career. Probably not a good time to tie themselves to living in one area.

Thelonious Monk

ELM327 wrote: »

And they spend less per capita than we do on social welfare, despite being a welfare state.

https://www.austria.org/the-welfare-state

I'm not sure how they do it there, but a cousin of mine is a single mother and she's getting a 2 bed apartment in Dalkey village next month on HAP. I can't imagine how expensive that is, there must be a cheaper way.

ELM327

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

If someone is only on 25k, they're only just getting started in a career. Probably not a good time to tie themselves to living in one area.

Or in a dead end job.

johnnyfruitcake

Mrs OBumble wrote:

If someone is only on 25k, they're only just getting started in a career. Probably not a good time to tie themselves to living in one area.

There's plenty of people on 25k who have worked for years.
Plenty of carpenters, electricians not getting paid the rate and some in even less than 25k.

CrankyHaus

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I'm not sure how they do it there, but a cousin of mine is a single mother and she's getting a 2 bed apartment in Dalkey village next month on HAP. I can't imagine how expensive that is, there must be a cheaper way.

Cheaper? yes.
Better at shoring up the private rental market? no.

Eric Cartman

ELM327 wrote: »

And they spend less per capita than we do on social welfare, despite being a welfare state.

https://www.austria.org/the-welfare-state

dont they have the system where you (quite rightly) get welfare for a year after being out of work and after that you have to sell all your possessions and downsize your home before the state will help ?

ELM327

Eric Cartman wrote: »

dont they have the system where you (quite rightly) get welfare for a year after being out of work and after that you have to sell all your possessions and downsize your home before the state will help ?

They have the same system (or similar) as in germany AFAIK, that you get % of your prior salary for the first year on a downward scale and then you get a base sustenance allowance after year two that is too low to live on comfortably (unlike a dole lifer family over here)

Eric Cartman

ELM327 wrote: »

They have the same system (or similar) as in germany AFAIK, that you get % of your prior salary for the first year on a downward scale and then you get a base sustenance allowance after year two that is too low to live on comfortably (unlike a dole lifer family over here)

As it should be.

Can you just leave school, develop a drink problem, pop out 2 kids and get a free 4eva home in Germany ?

Thelonious Monk

Eric Cartman wrote: »

As it should be.

Can you just leave school, develop a drink problem, pop out 2 kids and get a free 4eva home in Germany ?

I just don't think they have that many of those types of people there. It has been a rich country for centuries, had an Empire etc.

lalababa

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

My cousin just moved into a council house. She is a nurse and like most people can't afford to buy a house. She is married to a guy who is working and is expecting their first kid.

Its either they get this house or live with my elderly aunt and uncle.

This is ridiculously warped. In a way. But if you get your head around it, I suppose til be the new normal. Land and house/ build prices are too much. At least we're not USA where living in a trailer or your car is acceptable.

Eric Cartman

lalababa wrote: »

This is ridiculously warped. In a way. But if you get your head around it, I suppose til be the new normal. Land and house/ build prices are too much. At least we're not USA where living in a trailer or your car is acceptable.

its actually a great solution to low income housing and not all trailer parks are bad, a lot of them are all filled with large 3 bedroom trailers and lots of amenities. This notion that we have to have a 3 bed semi built with bricks in an estate distorts our housing market greatly.

LillySV

ELM327 wrote: »

They have the same system (or similar) as in germany AFAIK, that you get % of your prior salary for the first year on a downward scale and then you get a base sustenance allowance after year two that is too low to live on comfortably (unlike a dole lifer family over here)

A method that encourages someone to try harder for work the longer they on dole... over here they pay ya more they longer you are on it!!!

Gregor Samsa

Eric Cartman wrote: »

its actually a great solution to low income housing and not all trailer parks are bad, a lot of them are all filled with large 3 bedroom trailers and lots of amenities. This notion that we have to have a 3 bed semi built with bricks in an estate distorts our housing market greatly.

I've a 3 bedroom mobile home. Grand in the summer, 5 of us stay in for July and August every year. Not grand in the winter. Cold, damp and unsafe in storm conditions, require constant maintenance. They're made from chipboard (floor), plywood and styrofoam (walls), with a light aluminium skin. While mine has a gas heater, I'd be bloody careful if I had to use it (I don't), because the whole mobile is a big tinderbox if anything bad happened regarding a flame.

Might be ok in some parts of the US which have drier, warmer weather, not a great solution for housing low income people or families here. There might be a happy medium between mobiles and brick houses in the various solid prefabricated houses that are available now, but "trailers" really aren't an option.

Eric Cartman

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

I've a 3 bedroom mobile home. Grand in the summer, 5 of us stay in for July and August every year. Not grand in the winter. Cold, damp and unsafe in storm conditions, require constant maintenance. They're made from chipboard (floor), plywood and styrofoam (walls), with a light aluminium skin. While mine has a gas heater, I'd be bloody careful if I had to use it (I don't), because the whole mobile is a big tinderbox if anything bad happened regarding a flame.

Might be ok in some parts of the US which have drier, warmer weather, not a great solution for housing low income people or families here. There might be a happy medium between mobiles and brick houses in the various solid prefabricated houses that are available now, but "trailers" really aren't an option.

https://www.willerby.com/park-homes/our-range/delamere
check out BS 3632:2015 , its a British standard for residential living static homes and includes fire safety and insulation standards that negate that.
something like the unit linked above on a plot would be ideal for a low income couple. There are parks in the US where you can buy similar for $50k and pay $300 a month in lot fees and its a no brainer for those on lower incomes.

riclad

How to get a house, have 2 kids or more, fill in the forms, wait 5 to 8 years. Having 4 kids does not really help as most council houses have 3 bedrooms. You have a choice of 3 area, s eg coolock, Dublin 15 , city centre, if there's a house vacant in swords you won't get offered it.
It's not just a social housing problem,
We need 40 k plus housing units built every year to meet demand, a mix of rental, units for sale , and social housing.
We are not even close to meeting this target.
Dealing with the covid crisis will make the situation even worse.