•A method is introduced to assess social sustainability of mass housing projects.•The social sustainability condition of the case study city is not acceptable.•Insufficient public infrastructure is one of the main causes of dissatisfaction. Mass housing is one of the primary solutions implemented by the construction industry to meet the current rapidly growing housing demand. Corresponding with the recognition of the significance of sustainable development, the construction industry has evolved to incorporate more sustainable methods to reduce the negative impacts of the built environment. While various studies have investigated the environmental and economic aspects of mass housing, limited studies have addressed the social impact. This research aims to fill this gap by developing a method to assess the social sustainability of mass housing construction projects. To determine key sustainability indicators, this assessment began by narrowing the scope to the following five major internationally recognized sustainable rating systems: LEED, Envision, BREEM, CASBEE and Green Globes. These rating systems are then investigated by focusing on criteria relating to social sustainability. The 33 indicators extracted from the analysis are ranked and validated using subject-matter experts. Using the ranked indicators, a framework is developed to assess the mass housing construction projects from a social sustainability standpoint. The study utilizes the Mehr Housing Project in Iran in the city of Parand as a case study to illustrate the outlined approach.