Tipperary councillor opposes housing need survey of selected people on social housing list

A Carrick-on-Suir councillor has slammed a Social Housing Need Assessment survey being conducted on a select number of Tipperary council housing applicants at the direction of the Department of Housing.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Kieran Bourke claimed the form that requires selected approved housing list applicants to update the Department on their housing need including any change in their income circumstances will bring a “heap of hassle” on some applicants and cause “absolute mayhem” in council housing departments across the country.

He voiced his criticism of the Social Housing Need Assessment at Carrick-on-Suir Municipal District’s July meeting after two officials from Tipperary County Council’s Housing Section presented a report on their department’s work to councillors.

Under the 2024 Housing Needs Assessment, the Council has written to a select number of housing applicants requesting them to confirm their current housing need and submit a completed application form.

They must submit supporting documents in the event they have experienced a change of circumstances including income since they were last assessed. All applicants surveyed must return the completed form by Friday, August 16.

Cllr Bourke said the Department has directed housing applicants selected for assessment that if they don’t update their information by the deadline they will be removed from the housing list.

He noted that HAP and RAS tenants and applicants approved for social housing were excluded from this review.

He warned that this survey could have major implications for approved housing applicants who have secured a new job with better pay or secured a pay rise.

“If their income circumstances have changed they will be told they are no longer eligible. That will cause them a heap of hassle.”

Cllr Bourke said the Department of Housing shouldn’t be carrying out this survey.

“It’s going to cause absolute mayhem across Housing Sections in not just Tipperary (County Council) but across the country,” he warned.

An official from Tipperary County Council's Housing Section responded that the Housing Need Assessment was a “snapshot” of social housing needs that informs the Department of Housing of the resources they need to give.

He pointed out that there was no discretion in determining social housing need from the point of view of income.