Number of Mayo refusals of social housing offers revealed

A total of 48 applicants for social housing turned down offers of homes made by Mayo County Council in the past two years.

The information was relayed by the authority to the Irish Independent which conducted a revealing nationwide survey on the matter.

In 2021, there were 188 offers of houses made by the council, of which 13 were turned down.

A total of 217 offers were made last year - and 35 opted not to accept.

According to the Irish Independent, the most popular reasons for rejection throughout the country were gardens being too small, no pets allowed on the property and the location being 'unsuitable'.

Prospective tenants also refused offers on medical grounds.

Nationally, over 5,000 offers of social housing were turned down over the past two years.

As many as two in five offers were refused last year alone, according to the county-by-county breakdown.