Housing applicants on the waiting list are waiting up to 10 years
Average waiting time on housing list is 10 years
Housing list applicants in south Dublin are waiting up to ten years on average for two, three and four-bed houses.
The average waiting time for allocation of a two-bed house on the South Dublin County Council housing list is 9.6 years.
People on the list who were allocated a three-bed house in 2025 spent an average of ten years on the list, while those allocated a four-bed property this year spent an average of 11.1 years on the list, and those allocated one-bed properties spent 7.3 years on the list.
That’s according to figures from SDCC director of housing Elaine Leech, given in response to a question from Cllr Paddy Holohan (Ind) at the monthly full council meeting on Monday, September 8.
Cllr Holohan’s query specifically requested data on “shortest time someone has been housed by SDCC over the last ten years, from date of accepted application from the housing list”.
According to the data shared by Ms Leech, the lowest time on the list for allocations of one and two-bed properties was less than a year, while the lowest time on the list for allocations of three and four-bed properties was 2.2 years and 3.53 years respectively.
“Our Allocation Scheme prioritises applicants based on a range of criteria and allows for the disregard of the standard order of priority in exceptional circumstances including preventative homeless allocations for older persons, allocation of tenancies to transition from congregated settings, and allocations on exceptional compassionate grounds,” she said in her reply.
Cllr Holohan also requested data on the “current approximate wait for those on the housing downsizing list”.
Downsizing or rightsizing is where older persons or other households move into smaller accommodation.
Council tenants, including those living in dwellings provided under the Social Housing Leasing Initiative, RAS or by Approved Housing Bodies, can apply for consideration for a transfer for rightsizing or other circumstances such as overcrowding, medical or compassionate reasons, anti-social behaviour or other “exceptional circumstances”, Ms Leech stated.
She said that to date in 2025 there have been “eight transfers to households approved on the grounds of rightsizing, with an average waiting period of 4.7 years”, out of a total of 24 transfers.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
