2,500 families facing eviction as Government’s housing targets labelled 'insufficient'
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More than 2,500 families are facing eviction in the coming months with over 1,200 households contacting homeless charity Threshold so far this year.
It comes as the latest homeless figures provided by the Department of Housing show there were 12,259 people in emergency accommodation last month, the highest ever recorded.
Representatives from homeless charities will come before the Oireachtas housing committee on Tuesday.
Threshold has described the Government’s housing targets as “insufficient” and warned if the Coalition introduces measures to help landlords such as a tax reduction on rental income, there is “the absolute need” to ensure there is increased security of tenure for renters.
“A blanket reduction in tax will not guarantee against landlords leaving the sector, or ensure increased security of tenure, but will come at great expense to the State,” their opening statement outlines.
Threshold outlined that in the first three months of 2022, it worked with 5,360 households who were at risk of homelessness.
In the first quarter of this year, it worked with 6,001 who were at risk, a 12% increase.
The charity said it identified 475 clients who were overholding in the first quarter of 2023, compared to 303 during the same period in 2022, an increase of 57%.
Threshold said it had also seen an increase in the number of people experiencing “hidden homelessness”.
In the first three months of this year, 68 households were forced to “couchsurf”, staying with family and friends, in what they hope is a temporary set-up while searching for a new home.
There were 58 households in this situation in the first three months of 2022 but in the same quarter in 2020 there were just five.
In the first quarter of this year, 104 households that worked with the charity entered homelessness. The figure for the same period in 2022 was 98.
The charity said these figures show how it is becoming increasingly difficult to prevent people from losing their home or for people to find a new home.
It said this was primarily due to the “large increase” in the number of landlords who are choosing to sell their rental property.
In 2022, 83% of their clients who entered homelessness had received a notice of termination from their landlord.
“These households often need additional support and guidance to ensure homelessness is prevented, including representation at the RTB [Residential Tenancies Board].
“We also saw a high proportion of our single clients enter homelessness in 2022,” their statement reads.
Threshold will say while this year’s target is to buy 1,500 homes under the Tenant-in-Situ scheme, it is currently “assisting over 2,500 households who have a valid notice of termination”.
“We need far more than 1,300 units to be purchased under this scheme,” politicians will be told.
The Dublin Region Homeless Executive will tell the housing committee that a total of 18 properties were acquired under the Tenant in Situ scheme in Dublin.
A total of 387 are in process, with 164 being sale agreed and under conveyance.
Some 132 properties are seeing “initial inquiry” and tenant checks, where there has been contact from either landlords or tenants and the council is checking housing needs and that the tenant wants to stay.