Tenants in Tipperary Urged to engage with Council or face big rent hike

The Housing Crisis was discussed at length during the March meeting of Nenagh Municipal District when Tipperary County Council housing officer Shane Grogan presented his housing report.
Cllr Seamus Morris pointed out that the Council is losing a lot of HAP landlords at the moment. “We need to have a special meeting on housing, in terms of both private and social housing,” he said. “Ireland's ability to provide housing is waning. 

"A lot of people are under too much pressure from the system. A lot of people are renting privately and private rents have gone up by €300 to €400."

The councillor said the problem of the housing crisis can be clearly seen  in Tipperary County Council's rent arrears. "The rent arrears increased from €800,000 in 2018 to €1.8 million in 2022, he remarked."

He added that "some very vulnerable people are being hit by retrospective rent reviews by the Council.”
Cllr Ger Darcy said a couple in social, Council housing contacted him a couple of days previously. “They said they got a letter out of the blue from the Council stating they were in rent arrears of €4,000 to the Council. We shouldn't be sending letters like this. It frightens people. We need to work through it in a fairer way. Popping a letter in the post like this causes people sleepless nights.”
Shane Grogan said he disagreed with Cllr Morris on a couple of points.

Mr Grogan pointed out that in Tipperary 3,400 are on the housing waiting list and 60% of them are on HAP. “We are also gaining new landlords on HAP. We still have 800 RAS landlords."

He said the Council is performing extremely well when it comes to rent collection: "We have a 98% rent collection rate which is a very high rate."

He was able to explain why people were getting unpleasant letters from the Council: "We have been conducting a rent review and if people won't engage with the housing department then they are charged the maximum rent which is €108 a week. I think that is probably the reason why, in most instances, people are €4,000 or whatever in arrears. I'd urge people to engage with us."

Mr Grogan pointed out that historically the housing situation in Ireland goes through peaks and troughs. "There is a housing issue going on here since the 1960s and it is cyclical. We are now on an upward curve out of the trough and we are now building again."

He said he believes the core of the problem of the housing crisis "is that the private sector is not in a position to provide the houses that are required.

"In the County Council regarding the HAP and RAS targets we have met every target which the Department has set. The County Council is doing everything it can do regarding the provision of social housing.”
Cllr Michael O'Meara said the inflation rate is at 8.5% which is a massive burden. “People are under severe pressure”.

"If people are in trouble," commented Mr Grogan, "then come into the Council and talk to the staff. It is very important that people engage with the Council and don't ignore them."

  Cllr Morris commented that he knows of people "who are religiously paying their rents and are then hit with arrears out of the blue."

  Mr Grogan disagreed with Cllr Morris' statement. "If they have been paying their rent religiously," he remarked, "then there is no way they could have arrears of €4,000 or whatever. They may not have done the ongoing rent review which means they were charged the maximum rent amount. We appeal to people to please contact the rent team in the Council's housing section. The last thing we want to do is to frighten the life out of anyone. Ring the rent office."

  Mr Grogan added that Cllr Morris's figure was incorrect. "The rent arrears are not €1.8 million. We are the best rent collectors in the country outside of Dublin."

  "Historically," commented Cllr O'Meara, "the rent officers called to the house and collected the rent. The way we do it now has this drawback of people falling through the hole in the system."