Mayo increases social housing stock but number of vacant social homes continues to rise
Mayo’s social housing vacancy rate stood at just under 3pc at the end of 2024, slightly higher than the national average of 2.75pc.
The latest National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) Performance Indicator Report showed that while the local authorities' social housing stock has increased, so has the vacancy rate.
At the end of 2023, there were 2.6pc of local authority-owned dwellings were vacant, increasing to 2.99pc by December 2024.
This placed Mayo 10th highest in the country. By comparison, Kilkenny recorded the highest rate at 6.9pc, followed by Carlow at 5.9pc.
Counties including Sligo and Monaghan had lower-than-average vacancy rates, both recording 1.4pc.
The figures show that while most social homes in Mayo are occupied, approximately 76 remain vacant and could be made available to households on the waiting list.
It was reported in January 2025 that there were more than 1,250 people currently on the housing waiting lists across Mayo.
At the same time, Mayo has made steady progress in increasing its social housing stock.
Local authorities added 164 new units during 2024 and sold nine units, raising the total stock from 2,391 at the start of the year to 2,546 by December.
While Mayo added new homes to its social housing stock, a small proportion remained vacant at the end of 2024. Part of this can be explained by the time and cost involved in preparing homes for re-letting.
According to the NOAC data, in Mayo, the average time taken to re-let a dwelling was 30.5 weeks, with an average cost of €18,528 per unit.
Compared with the rest of the country, Mayo is re-letting homes faster and at lower cost.
Nationally, the average time to re-let a vacant social house was 35.6 weeks, and the average cost was €31,136 per unit.
With over 1,250 people on the county’s housing waiting list and a proportion of social homes remaining vacant, these figures underline the continuing pressures on Mayo’s housing system.
While the county is performing better than the national average in re-letting homes, effectively managing and using vacant social homes will remain a key factor in addressing housing demand and supporting those in need.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.