What is council estates housing? (e.g. Does the dog ban prohibit me from moving to Ireland?)?

Question

In light of the current dog ban, I may/may not be able to relocate from the US to Dublin (I refuse to leave my loving, kind Am Staff mix for a job). I intended to find rental housing upon moving to Dublin, and have been searching daft.ie for apartments. Does this site list "council estates" properties? What exactly is meant by this term?

Answer 1

Dublin rents are expensive, but to insure your enjoyment of the city, you must consider location first. Be located within a reasonable commute of work, and within a reasonable distance of things you enjoy doing. Some areas are better avoided, and these often have a lot of council housing. Council housing is provided by the government for low income or unemployed families. The rent charged is minimal, but there is a rather long waiting list for these properties. You must meet criteria proving you can not afford accomodation costs elsewhere.

However, some of the older style council homes have been sold by the government to private individuals, and these may be what you are finding on daft.ie. In this case it's a bit of a lucky dip. You could rent in a building that is all privately owned, or it could be still partly council owned and partly private.

I would suggest you visit prospective neighbourhoods to get a feel for them before signing a lease tying you in for a year. This may require you staying in a bed and breakfast or hostel for a few weeks, but you will be glad of it when you find the right neighbourhood for you.

I'm afraid I know nothing about dog bans!

Best of luck to you!

Answer 2

Council Housing are housing units constructed  and rented by the local government - what would be know as public housing projedcts in the US.  Public housing in Ireland, as in North America and the UK, is a magnet for high crime and surrounding neighborhood decay and are looked upon as very undesirable by middle class and upper middle class citizens.