The Government decided on Tuesday that it will allow a temporary ban on ‘no fault’ evictions to lapse at the end of March. While some renters will remain protected until mid-June as the ban is phased out, the resulting row over the decision dominated the political agenda all week.
Why was the eviction ban in place anyway?
It is no secret that Ireland is in the midst of a seemingly endless housing crisis. This was compounded last year by the spiralling cost of living. The Coalition brought in the ban on evictions at the end of October as an emergency measure. The aim was to prevent people entering homelessness over winter and to allow breathing space to ramp up emergency accommodation. Tenants could be evicted only if they were not paying rent or were involved in antisocial behaviour.
Has it worked?
The number of people in emergency accommodation in January – two months after it came into effect -stood at a record high of 11,754. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has admitted the ban did not work to stop the increase. The Government has raised concern that it could lead to more landlords leaving the market, thus reducing housing supply further.
So how did people react to the ban ending?
The most compelling responses have been from people facing eviction who are deeply worried they will become homeless if they are unable to find accommodation in a tight private rental market. Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin branded the decision “cruel and heartless”. His party is planning to force a Dáil vote on the matter after the St Patrick’s Day recess. It will not be binding but it will make things uncomfortable for the Government – particularly for Green Government TDs such as Neasa Hourigan and Patrick Costello, who have publicly said the moratorium should have been extended. Housing charities have expressed huge concern at the situation.
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How many people might be affected?
It is difficult to say as up-to-date official figures on the number of notices of termination issued during the ban have not yet been published. The most recent estimate quoted by Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien is 2,700 such notices, though not all of these will be evictions for various reasons. Renters sought advice from housing organisation Threshold on 1,460 notices of termination issued since the start of the ban, some indication of how many evictions could potentially happen.
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What has the Government said?
Mr O’Brien said the decision “wasn’t taken lightly” while admitting that it “could very possibly” increase homelessness. He insisted that “additional emergency accommodation” had been provided. This has been disputed by some. Mr Varadkar said the decision was made in “the overall public interest” and while extending the ban might provide “respite” in the short-term it “would have made things much worse in the medium to long-term”.
Is anything being done to help renters?
Aside from the usual emergency accommodation supports, not initially. There are plans to change the law to require landlords to offer “first refusal” to buy to tenants if they plan to sell after an independent valuation. Another proposal would see Approved Housing Bodies or local authorities buy homes, keeping the tenants in situ at below-market-rate rents. These measures will not be in place by the time evictions resume. The Government hopes to make changes to the law by the summer recess.
Looks like this issue will not be going away then?
Not a chance. Evictions are to resume in three weeks’ time. Expect the Opposition to hammer the Coalition on the issue then, and every time homeless figures are updated as the year goes on.
