Ensuring migrants have equal access to social housing

On the 6th of December 2011, we were delighted to read that "guidance regarding access to social housing by non-Irish nationals was under review and updated rules would be issued to local authorities shortly", in a piece by Jennifer Hough, in the Irish Examiner: "Nasc: Non-EU Workers kept of f housing list."

For those of you are interested in how case work and advocacy like this happens, this is the story behind the story.

Early this year it came to our attention that legal residents from other countries were being routinely refused when applying for social housing. We examined the legislation, and were at a loss to understand the grounds on which people were being refused. Some clients told us that they had been told that they were not eligible for social housing, and that they need not apply. We urged them to return to their Local Authority, and to insist that they wished to apply and to have their applications assessed. We assisted a couple of applicants in making their applications, and made a few phone calls to managers of Local Authority offices, who assured us that they would accept and assess the applications.

When the first written refusal was presented to us by a client at the clinics, we were stunned to discover that the applicant had been refused on the basis that she had not held a residency permission allowing her to work freely in Ireland for the past five years. This was an applicant who had held a work permit in Ireland for years – that is to say, she only had permission to work for one employer. Her husband and child had long since been granted permission to join her here, and she had some two years previously graduated to a residency permission that allowed her to work freely in Ireland (called “Stamp 4”). We scoured the legislation, and were convinced that the supposed requirement was not to be found in any law of the state. It eventually came to light that the requirement was contained in a Circular that had been sent from the Department of the Environment to the Local Authorities. The local offices were only doing what they were told.

We knew that the faulty rule would have to be revoked if the matter came before a High Court Judge. Alternatively of course, the then Minister, Willie Penrose, might be prevailed upon to correct the mistake. We began by meeting with some colleagues from around the country, and discovered that the issue was presenting itself in every Local Authority area. In order to make our contact with the Minister more effective, we wrote to him jointly with some of the other organisations, including Threshold and Focus Ireland. Maybe this way, he would take us seriously, and the applicants and the state would be spared the cost and inconvenience of a High Court application. We have yet to hear from the Minister’s office. In the meantime of course, the Minister has resigned his post, and we await the appointment of a new Minister with interest.

In the meantime, we needed, between us, to find a case that was suitable to take to court, and a solicitor and a barrister to take it there. We began by posting an information note on our website and in our newsletter, pointing out to people who had been refused the right to apply that they should insist on making an application and on receiving a formal refusal, and telling them that we believed that the supposed regulation was incorrect.

Next we asked PILA, the Public Interest Law Alliance, to get an Opinion for us from an expert on housing law. PILA came up trumps, with an Opinion from a barrister, Neil Maddox, who literally wrote the book on housing law in Ireland (Housing Authority Law, Roundhall, 2010). Mr. Maddox confirmed that the rule was, indeed, “ultra vires” or beyond the scope of the legislation. The Department has essentially drafted its own “law”, and it did not have the power to do so. In addition, Mr. Maddox pointed out that the effect of the rule was discriminatory and in all probability unconstitutional.

Going to court is a serious matter – we do not want to encourage any client who is reluctant to take on the risk of losing and being fixed with the State’s costs. In addition, cases can take up to two years to come before a judge. While cases have been lodged, we do very much hope that our new Minister for Housing, when he or she is announced, will take a pragmatic approach to this and do the decent thing. Since the 6th of December, it would appear that the issue is on the table, and that steps will be taken to end this state-sponsored form of discrimination.

Posted on 14.12.11

Update of 6th January 2012
Having just returned from a long Christmas break, we were delighted to have received revised guidelines regarding social housing eligibility assessment for non-Irish nationals from the Department of the Environment.

The Department has issued a new Circular to the staff of the local authorities charged with administering and assessing applications for social housing all around Ireland. The new rules are much, much, fairer that those that were in place before, and we very strongly welcome the changes.

The service user who was mentioned in our case study would be eligible under the new criteria, so she will be absolutely delighted, as will a handful of other long-term residents who were refused to our knowledge, and whom we will now encourage to reapply. We are also aware of a small number of judicial review applications that will, we imagine, also be withdrawn from the High Court list in due course, as the applicants will be eligible under the revised guidelines for assessment.

What a great way to start 2012!

Ensuring migrants have equal access to social housing

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