One in four of all social houses are turned down
A shocking 80 social houses were turned down by applicants across the county over the past year – with one house alone rejected six times.
The revelation last week prompted Galway County Councillors to formally question high refusal rates during the ongoing housing crisis.
They were responding after new figures showed that more than a quarter of Galway County Council housing offers did not result in tenancies - with 27.5% of applicants declining properties offered to them.
Eighty properties were refused at least once during the year. Most were declined only once, but a smaller number required multiple offers before a tenancy was secured.
The figures emerged during a discussion of the monthly management report at County Hall, which showed that while most properties are accepted, a notable minority must be re-offered several times before being let.
Councillors raised concerns about the refusal rate at a time of high housing demand and asked whether clearer patterns behind refusals could be identified.
Cllr Eileen Mannion (FG) questioned why properties were being declined despite strong need.
“It seems an awful high refusal rate,” she said. “Every day I work with people who need a place to live. Is there a way we can identify why these properties are being refused?”
Members noted that each refusal creates additional administrative work, as homes must be re-offered and processed again.
Cllr Donagh Killilea (FF) said the housing section is working “extremely hard,” while Cllr Thomas Welby (Ind) said that “refusing properties generates a serious amount of time” for staff.
Cllr Welby highlighted the rural property refused six times and asked why it proved so difficult to let.
Housing officials said reasons for refusals are varied and not always clear-cut.
In some cases, applicants may lack a support network in the area offered or may be reluctant to leave established communities.
“You couldn’t put a finger on why someone is refusing,” officials said at the meeting.
“The support network might not be there. You could be moving someone who is settled in a particular community, and it is a wrench if you have created roots.”
Officials added that rural properties can be harder to allocate because fewer applicants are willing or able to move to those locations.
“There may not be someone looking to move to a certain area that we may have on the books,” officials continued.
In such cases, alternative letting approaches such as choice-based allocations may be considered.
The figures highlighted that eleven applicants refused two properties each during the year, which Cllr Eileen Mannion said “seems very high to me.”
Officials confirmed that applicants who refuse two reasonable offers can be suspended from the housing list for a year under current rules.
A total of 396 applicants received one or more offers in 2025, resulting in 287 tenancy starts, with only eight properties remaining unallocated at year end.