Cork City Council starts review of social housing applications

Cork City Council has contacted 1,700 households in the city as part of the annual assessments of the national housing need.

The local authority advised councillors that they had commenced their annual review of social housing applications, Summary of Social Housing Assessments, (SSHA) as directed by the Minister of Housing, Heritage and Local Government.

The SSHA, a requirement under the Housing Act 2009, brings together information provided by the local authorities on households within their functional areas that are qualified for social housing support, but whose social housing need is not met.

In order to fulfil the requirements of the SSHA for 2025, Cork City Council is obliged to contact all qualified households identified as being in need of reassessment.

The process excludes certain applicants from having to be contacted for this year’s exercise: Applicants who applied for the first time or were reviewed since June, 27, 2024; applicants in receipt of Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) or Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS); Cork City Council transfer tenants, and applicants who were assessed under the SSHA 2024 process.

The closing date for the receipt of completed forms is set for September 12, and failure to respond to the SSHA will result in the closure of a household’s application for social housing supports.

According to the 2024 SSHA, there were 2,810 households qualified for social housing support in the Cork city area , down from the 2023 figure of 2,883 households.

However, Sinn Féin councillor Michelle Gould has previously criticised that SSHA does not include people on HAP or RAS, saying that not including them in the lists “paints a misleading picture of progress”.