Rise in refusals of local authority housing offers

In the last two years a total of 24 applicants on the local authority housing list have declined the accommodation they were offered in the Municipal District of Athlone-Moate. The figures came to light at the October meeting of the MD.

Cllr Aengus O’Rourke posed a series of questions to the authority on housing allocations by the housing department to people on the housing list.

The first query by Cllr O’Rourke sought details of how many applicants refused accommodation offered to them over the last two years. The reply stated that in 2024 there were 10 refusals, and in 2025 that number increased to 14, a total of 24 over the two years.

Further figures showed that was a rise in the number of refusals compared to the previous two years. The number of refusals in MDAM in 2023 was 21, while in 2022 it was eight, giving a total of 29.

The percentage of refusals in respect of the overall allocation numbers are 9.25% in 2024 (when 108 were offered), and 15.9% in 2025 (when 88 offers were made). Those figures are based on approved housing bodies (AHBs) and local authority acquired properties only.

Following an assessment of the reason for refusal the council housing department determined that seven of the refusals in 2024 were unreasonable, while 14 of the refusals in 2025 were described as unreasonable.

The final piece of data from Cllr O’Rourke’s queries showed that two of the applicants in 2024 and 2025 had refused the houses they were offered more than once.

At the meeting, Cllr O’Rourke said he was concerned about the rise in refusals, given the ongoing housing crisis: “I think there is an unfairness to it. Every time someone refuses a house, there are consequences for others on the list.”

The Fianna Fáil elected representative accepted that not all refusals were unreasonable: “This isn’t about punishing people for having legitimate reasons - there will always be applicants with valid grounds for refusal. If someone has a valid medical, accessibility, or personal reason, these are assessed by our experienced housing staff and must be respected.”

Cllr O’Rourke said some applicants had turned down houses because they were “in a council estate,” “did not have a back garden,” or because the applicant “wanted one of the new” houses.

The motion received broad support from fellow members, including the mayor Cllr Vinny McCormack, Cllr John Dolan, and Cllr Frankie Keena.

“It is frustrating,” said Cllr Keena. “There are so many people who are grasping for a house, and others on the list are holding out for a new build.”

Cllr Dolan said it “never ceases to amaze” him that some applicants would refuse housing for trivial reasons: “When you have a housing crisis, you can’t be cherry picking.”

Cllr O’Rourke asked the executive to send a note on the issue of unreasonable housing refusals to Minister for Housing and Local Government James Brown.