Single people who are unable to provide housing for themselves from their own resources are entitled to apply for social housing which is provided by either a local authority or a voluntary housing body. While it is a matter for individual local authorities to decide on the allocation of houses to single persons and other categories on their waiting lists in accordance with their schemes of letting priorities, my Department advised local authorities in the social housing design guidelines of the need to provide a reasonable mix of dwellings suited to the different kinds of households already on waiting lists and to plan their future programmes taking account of the estimated size and type of households likely to be seeking housing in the future.
Local authorities have been reminded by my Department of the need to ensure that the profile of house types in proposed new housing schemes should take greater account of the actual housing needs position of households on waiting lists having regard to the dwelling mix in the existing local authority rented housing sector. My Department continues to monitor the matching of local authority housing building programmes to the range of household needs on waiting lists. In recent years local authorities have provided a wider range of house types, including an increasing number of one and two bedroom dwellings which are more suitable to single people.
