“MASS EVICTIONS” will occur in April if the current ban is not extended, local councillors have warned.
A cap on rent increases nationally “for the remainder of the housing crisis” was sought by Cllr Liam Grant (GP) as he urged Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien (FF) to take action. He felt the addition of a national emergency policy to cap rent increases was required.
Cllr Grant stated, “People across the county are getting rent increases of up to and over 100% and this is morally wrong and shouldn’t be allowed. The legislation around Rent Pressure Zones does very little to help with rent pressure in rural towns and villages”.
An extension of the eviction ban until new legislation on short-term lets comes into effect was requested by the Lahinch councillor. “I am worried that there will be mass evictions in April of this year which will result in a huge demand for rental accommodation all at once and we could end up with a surge in homelessness,” Cllr Grant admitted.
Residents in parts of North Clare have had to deal with rent increases, in some cases, it has doubled.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting of Clare County Council, Cllr Grant commented, “Ennistymon and Lahinch are not designated as rent pressure zones but are under huge rental pressure. The evictions ban was good over winter period but it has created a situation where people are under more pressure. I’m really worried for the people who will be evicted in April and will have nowhere to go, I think some landlords have taken advantage, people have realised they can get a lot more for their house because of the housing crisis”.
As a county councillor he admitted to feeling “a sense of helplessness” in responding to constituents that are facing evictions in over a month. “We don’t want to discourage landlords, we don’t want to push them out of the market, all I’m trying to do is give a chance to people who are going to be evicted in April. I feel helpless, I’m trying to represent the people who are really scared about where they will be living in a few months time”.
Ennistymon postmaster, Cllr Shane Talty (FF) acknowledged that this was “certainly an issue in North Clare”. He predicted, “we’ll have a crisis again in the summer tourist season where businesses can’t attract staff”. Talty said the Ukrainian response “is putting a further squeeze on the housing market”.
Attempts by Clare councillors to have the county declared as a rent pressure zone failed previously, Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) reminded his colleagues. “The ban on evictions is an impediment for a lot of people, I don’t support that part of it, we’ve had lots of debates about dysfunctional tenants, some people who ring me are at their wits end,” he said. The Shannon representative supported the policy to cap rent increases.
It won’t be a pleasant spring, Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) predicted. “We are going to end up with some serious issues in April with mass evictions, even still there are loopholes around it. The fact they can put the rent up so high is morally wrong. There is a whole range of issues with this”.
Businesses relying on seasonal staff are impacted by the difficulties in sourcing accommodation, Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) flagged. He felt it was important to ascertain why individual landlords were leaving the market “in droves” and added, “we cannot pillar landlords for being landlords and then give out when prices go through the roof”.
Housing “is far more complex than putting in rent pressure zones, we need to look at putting in a short term approach and take pressure off people who are fearful of losing their homes,” Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) insisted. The State’s role must be “ramped up”, he said, “we have to concentrate on what’s in our control and work our asses off to get improvements”.
