It’s a significant symptom of a housing system that needs radical overhaul; here in Cork city there are twice as many one- and two-person households as there are one- and two-bedroomed homes.

The majority of households in Ireland are now one- and two-person households and this category is predicted to grow. Yet, the majority of our housing is three- and four-bed detached and semi-detached homes.

The Government is reviewing its Housing for All plan. In doing so it must pay close attention to the scale of housing needed, how it can be delivered quickly and, crucially, make sure there is an adequate supply of housing type to meet the needs of the majority household size, which includes single homeless adults.

Average household size has been falling since the 60s but our housing stock has not kept pace with these changing demographics. The result is that those looking for smaller housing to suit their needs and budget are most unlikely to find it, given its particularly low supply and exceptionally high demand. Many, from young adults living with parents, to older adults wishing to downsize, to single adults seeking a home of their own, remain shut out of the market.

The comprehensive Housing Commission Report published last year is clear about the need for a predominance of smaller homes in new builds, stating, “it is critically important to ensure that housing delivery reflects a more appropriate distribution of household size…most net additions to Ireland’s housing over the coming decades need to be housing for 1- to 2-person households”.

The lack of one- and two-bed homes is an especially acute problem for those facing the greatest housing disadvantage. The majority on social housing waiting lists and in homeless emergency accommodation are single. Over six in ten households on Cork City’s social housing waiting list are single households while over three-quarters of adults in emergency accommodation in Cork and Kerry present as single. Most need single unit accommodation to exit homelessness.

The Housing Commission Report also notes the mismatch between social housing need and social housing supply, where three- and four-bed homes have been the norm. Government must heed the Report’s analysis that “despite increasing social housing supply, the availability of one-bedroom properties remains limited” and its advice to “ensure that new social housing output closely matches the household sizes and needs of people who are homeless, especially by providing one- and two-bed homes”.

Our latest Home Truths report, One- and two-bedroom housing need and supply includes the real experiences of single adults in our emergency shelter who are searching for accommodation through the private rental market and social housing. The word ‘impossible’ arises frequently in their accounts. Trevor explained how he has set up rental website notifications on his phone but said, “the alerts don’t come, you know. They just don’t because, you know, I’m looking for the impossible.” Another service user, Adam, described the lack of one-bedroom housing as “absolutely brutal”.

People who are homeless are already on the bottom rung of the ladder when it comes to trying to secure housing – they lack hefty deposits, they may not have up-to-date references, and they are reliant on Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) which does not come close to market rents. Single homeless adults are competing with the majority for the minority housing type.

Our latest Home Truths report also finds that single adults are less likely to secure housing as a preventative measure to entering emergency accommodation than families, and less likely to exit emergency accommodation to a housing tenancy. The lack of smaller housing units across our housing supply is no doubt contributing to these outcomes.

Searching in vain takes its toll and for many, despondency takes hold as long-term homelessness sets in. On the night of March 31st, more than half of single adults in emergency accommodation in Cork and Kerry were long-term homeless – they had been stuck in emergency accommodation for six months or more. One in twelve were homeless two years or more. Long-term homelessness has a significant impact on an individual’s mental and physical wellbeing, their sense of hope and agency. Lives are placed on hold.

Unfortunately, there’s little sign of the under-supply of much-needed one- and two-bed housing improving. Approved planning permissions for apartment units in Cork city fell 61% in 2024.  Latest CSO data shows a continued decline in 2025 with new apartment completions in Cork city down 10% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year. Building commencement notices for apartment units in Cork City were also down in Q1 2025 to their lowest quarterly number in five years. Add to this, Government missing its 2024 social housing targets by 20% and the outlook for an increase in smaller housing units is poor.

The Government’s revised Housing for All plan needs to be just that – for all. It must be inclusive, it must reflect the changing nature of household size, and it must fundamentally address the housing needs of single adults stuck in homelessness who’ve been locked out of the housing system for far too long.