Thurles councillors urge changes to council rent scheme

There are no plans to change the terms of the current Differential Rent Scheme, councillors have been told.

At this week’s Thurles-Templemore District Council meeting, councillors were concerned that Carers Allowance and Family

Income Supplement were being taken into consideration when setting rents.

Thurles councillor Jim Ryan said it was unfair to count Carers Allowance. He said carers carry out very important work often under financial strain.

He referenced the medical card scheme, which does not take into account Carers Allowance.

“I think it's very unfair that Carers Allowance is taken into account. It’s wrong in my opinion,” said Cllr Ryan.

Cllr Seamus Hanafin felt similarly about the Family Income Supplement.

The housing section’s Deirdre Flannery replied to the councillors' concerns.

She said that it is an ‘executive function,’ and to change it would require a new scheme.

She said both payments were taken into account before the Differential Rent Scheme came into effect in 2017.

However, Cllr Ryan asked if every local authority uses the same criteria, to which Ms Flannery replied no.

She said there were different iterations of the scheme in the country, which may consider other factors.

Cllr Hanafin asked when a review of the scheme was due to be carried out.But none of the officials present could provide an answer.

A council official attendance said: “At the moment, we have no plans to change it.”

RENT ARREARS

In recent week's councillors have been concerned about the level of rent arrears at Tipperary County Council.

At the end of last year €2,711,392 was owed in rent. To address councillors' concerns, representatives from Tipperary County Council attended each municipal district meeting to answer questions.

At this week’s Thurles-Templemore meeting council officials acknowledged the level of rent arrears is high but said they are working to address the issue.

They say tenants are required to notify the council of changes to their circumstances so their rent can be adjusted.

Last year’s rent concluded with some people owing the council money due to changes in circumstances.

HARDSHIP

The council officials also acknowledged that rent arrears can cause hardship for some tenants.

Where the tenant engages with the council, officers in the housing section will refer the tenant to MABS.

If after they have consulted MABS, paying their arrears still presents a financial hardship, the council will work with the tenant to come to a solution.

If a tenant does not engage with the council, they will receive a two written warnings, which may go to court if ignored.

However, the officials at Monday’s meeting stressed very few go to court, and fewer are prosecuted.

“We don’t want to be in court,” they said. The representatives from the housing section said they are confident in working with tenants they can bring the rent arrears rate down.

“At the end of the day we are in the business of giving homes, not taking them away, but people have to pay their way, " said Ms Flannery.