Rental crisis: 'I’m 70 years of age, I have no money and no place to live, what am I going to do?'
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A 70-year-old renter with several health problems living in Dublin City has put a newly discovered heart condition down to the stress of facing homelessness.
It comes as figures published on Friday show that 12,259 people were homeless in Ireland at the end of April, including 3,594 children. It is the first time the number of homeless people in the State has been above 12,000.
The figures are the first to be released since the eviction ban was lifted on March 31.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, was due to have major surgery this month, however, she now plans on postponing it due to the uncertainty of her living situation.
She was due to vacate her home on May 1 after receiving a notice of termination prior to the eviction ban, but she and her partner are still in the property as they have not been able to find alternative accommodation, saying she has “tried everything”.
The woman, who worked as a carer for 47 years, is solely reliant on the State pension as a private renter and said she would not be able to afford to rent “for much longer”.
She believes her age is making the search all the more difficult, having received no replies from prospective landlords, despite telling them that she and her partner are “quiet and cause no problems”.
“I’ve tried everything. I told them we’re in our 70s and on Hap but got no reply from anybody,” she said before adding: “There’s no point in not putting that down and then wasting everybody’s time.”
She is still engaging with her local authority while receiving support from Alone and St Vincent De Paul, which has given her a voucher to purchase a walker.
The stress of the uncertainty is having an impact on her health, she said, and having had pre-op tests carried out in recent weeks, there was a newly discovered heart condition.
“It’s all the pressure, it’s definitely affecting my health. I sit here until 12 at night and the television is on but I’m not watching it, I’m just sitting there and I’m saying: ‘I’m 70 years of age, I have no money and no place to live, what am I going to do?’” she said.
The woman, who said she has even contacted care homes in addition to countless properties on Daft, said she cannot understand why houses are “lying idle”.
“I know I’m in a bad way, but there are people standing outside who have no place to sleep, when you think of that as well it’s dreadful, and people setting places on fire,” she said.
Regardless of the outcome of her upcoming tests, she said she intended to putting off her surgery, saying: “I’m not able for it, I’m not in the right frame of mind for an operation and maybe if I’m gone, this place will be gone when I come back.”