Special meeting of Tipperary County Council called over housing crisis as eviction ban ends

A group of councillors, including Clonmel’s Mayor, are warning the county faces a surge in homelessness once the national ban on evictions ends this Friday, with 117 local notices to quit falling due for enforcement when it’s removed.  

Their fear of a further escalation in Tipperary’s housing crisis  has prompted the five councillors to call a special meeting of Tipperary County Council to discuss this “unprecedented” housing crisis and “seek immediate action” from the Government to tackle its causes. 

The special meeting of the council’s 40 elected members in Clonmel today (Wednesday, March 29) has been called by Mayor of Clonmel Cllr Pat English of the Workers and Unemployed Action Group, Independents Cllr Anne Marie Ryan from Tipperary Town and Seamus Morris of Nenagh and Sinn Féin’s Cllr David Dunne from Carrick-on-Suir  and Cllr Tony Black from Tipperary Town.

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 It’s the second special meeting of the council convened to discuss county Tipperary’s housing crisis  in   in the space of nine months. 

Cllr English estimated  70 of the 117 notices issued  to quit private rental houses that are falling due for enforcement in the county after the eviction ban is lifted involve families.

The Mayor said houses are being sold on a daily basis, so notices to quit will continue to be issued by landlords leaving the private rental market  over the coming months.

He said they called the special council meeting to press for measures the council and Government can introduce to respond to the short term housing needs of people who become homeless over the next few months because their rental home has been sold and they can’t find alternative accommodation. An increase in emergency accommodation in the county for homeless people is one of the key actions they are seeking.

He said he will be pressing the council for better financial supports to assist people issued with a notice to quit to find a new home. He will also be pressing the local authority to speed up the release of social housing it’s building and renovating to new tenants.

Tipperary County Council’s March meeting was told that since last summer the council has purchased or is in the process of buying 73 homes where tenants in receipt of social housing supports like HAP or RAS, were issued with notices to quit because their landlord was selling the property.

Cllr English points out this option isn’t open to renters whose income is over the threshold for qualifying for social housing. The Workers & Unemployed Action Group is currently dealing with a number of such families facing eviction but finding it very difficult to find a new home because of the huge shortage of rental homes.

Escalating rents in the local private housing market are also a big problem.

Cllr English said in recent weeks one constituent was quoted a monthly rent of €1,700 for a three-bedroom house in Clonmel, which they simply couldn’t afford despite earning a good income from their job.

“The fear is that when one landlord starts to look for €1,700 rent a month others will follow.”

In requesting the convening of a special council meeting, the five councillors described the housing crisis gripping the county as “unprecedented.”

They expressed concern that efforts to increase housing supply falls “far short of what is required” and accuses the Government of failing to meet what it describes as “underwhelming delivery targets for social and affordable houses.” And it points out that latest figures show rents and house prices continue to “spiral upwards.”

The councillors also expressed concern that across the State the homeless emergency accommodation system is at breaking point with a large number of local authorities reporting no extra capacity for new homeless presentations and Tipperary County Council having “extremely limited capacity” in emergency accommodation.

“We have called on the (Council) Executive to do all it can to add capacity as we face an increase in homelessness in the coming weeks.”

Sinn Féin Cllr David Dunne, who is Cathaoirleach of Carrick Municipal District, said from April 1 private renters issued with notices to quite face the real prospect of eviction as the rental market is “virtually non- existent.”

“The whole purpose of the eviction ban was not just to give time to tenants, it was also to give the Government, namely the Department of Housing, an opportunity to put in place emergency measures to increase and accelerate the supply of social and affordable housing.

“This clearly was not done, and now we expect there to be unprecedented demand on the council to provide emergency accommodation in the absence of sufficient social housing.

“We have an obligation to act in the interests of our constituents by discussing the best approach to address the impending increase in homelessness with the housing executive,” he added.