Only 16 properties available to rent in entire county as landlords sell up

An increase of Notices to Quit being served by landlords on HAP tenants has prompted Tipperary Co Council to introduce a new procedure to deal with the problem.

The situation comes against a backdrop of private landlords selling up due to rising house prices, and rising rents in the private sector due to shortage of rental supply. There were only 16 properties available to rent in the county of Tipperary on Wednesday of last week, listed on the daft.ie website. Daft recorded the highest rent price rise in the second quarter of this year since it began compiling records 16 years ago - up by 12.3% in Tipperary to an average rent of €1,089.

In Nenagh, Sinn Féin representative Damian O Donoghue has described the increase in Notices to Quit (NTQ) as “very alarming”, while Cllr Séamie Morris - who has requested monthly NTQ figures for HAP and RAS houses from the council - says the local authority's new policy fails to address the situation.

The council recently appraised members of a procedure that seeks to deal with NTQs as early as possible and thereby reduce or avert the need to use emergency accommodation. Clients are to provide NTQ to the council as soon as they receive it and an appointment will be made the council's HAP Placefinder.

Reviewed every two months, the process will involve the newly-introduced Choice-Based Letting (CBL) scheme. If this proves unsuccessful, the client will be encouraged to look for accommodation outside of their area of choice.

If still unsuccessful after six months of seeking a new home, the client is to be placed in emergency accommodation. The council will continue to try to find a suitable home in the client's location of choice but will seriously consider options outside that location. If the client rejects an offer of accommodation, emergency housing supports are to be withdrawn on the basis that there was active engagement for six months where preference was identified but accommodation provision has to be prioritised, even where it is not in the client's area of choice.

Cllr Morris described this as a “shocking response to the emergency housing situation that we have” and said councillors had not been given the opportunity to discuss it.

“I will not tolerate people being moved off the list if they refuse to move area,” he said. “Quite a lot of people have no access to transport to get their children into schools that they are settled in. The CBL system is not working as there are not enough houses on it for the amount of people looking for social housing.”

The independent councillor claimed the tone of the council's new policy in the wake of NTQs is “somehow to blame the tenant”.

A recent meeting of the council heard that quick-to-assemble modular homes are being considered for accommodating Ukrainian refugees, and that these homes could make a long-term option for social housing applicants once the Ukrainian issue is resolved. But Cllr Morris claimed the council “look down on modular housing”. He pointed out that Laois Co Council is commencing a 54-unit modular housing scheme for their tenants and said he has long advocated for the Tipperary authority to do similar.

“I feel we as a council need to get down off our high horse and embrace modular housing,” Cllr Morris stated.

Mr O Donoghue meanwhile spoke of “worryingly high numbers of people, who are facing evictions and homelessness” as a result of Notices to Quit issued by landlords in North Tipperary in recent months.

“It is so hard to find a house at the moment, whether you are looking for private rental accommodation or looking for a local authority home, not to mention the high prices if you want to purchase a home,” he stated. “So when you factor in the increase in Notices to Quit, we certainly have a perfect storm on our hands.

“The total number of homeless presentations in Tipperary from January to March 2022 was 140 and this figure will rise. Figures given to Sinn Féin from the Residential Tenancies Board show that there have been 1,781 Notices to Quit served nationally in the second quarter of 2022. This is an increase from 841 notices in the same period in 2021.

“These figures are very alarming and require urgent action. The number of Notices to Quit has soared in recent months, which will see a dramatic escalation in evictions in the near future. This will lead to a level of homelessness that we previously would have thought impossible.”

Mr O Donoghue added that “all options must be on the table for consideration, including a temporary ban on evictions, an accelerated tenant in situ purchase scheme by local authorities, an acceleration of social housing delivery and tax reform in the private rental sector”.