500-600 complaints lead to ‘one or two’ evictions

While Clare County Council receive between 500 to 600 complaints a year in relation to tenants breaching the housing authority’s anti-social behaviour strategy, just one or two result in evictions, it emerged this week.

 

The figures were released at a meeting of the Joint Policing Committee held in Ennis on Monday during a discussion on anti-social behaviour in residential areas, of the county town.

Councillors Joe Arkins, Pascal Fitzgerald, Tony Mulqueen, Tom McNamara and Oliver Garry raised issues of concern in their respective areas primarily regarding the antisocial behaviour of juveniles in estates.

They also expressed a concern about tenants and homeowners living in housing estates who were engaging in anti-social behaviour and raised questions regarding the rights of neighbours and the role of gardaí to deal with this issue.

Councillor Arkins queried what strategy was in place for tenants under the local authority’s housing scheme should they engage in anti-social behaviour.

Ms Fiona Mooney, acting senior executive officer for housing social and cultural services with Clare County Council, outlined to members that there was a strategy for those housed under RAS and Local Authority housing schemes.

She said that under this strategy on an annual basis the council receive between 500-600 complaints, many of which would include multiple complaints about a single property.

Ms Mooney said that the number of complaints relates to approximately 4% of its 1,500 council tenancies.

When asked by Councillor Arkins of the 500 to 600 complaints how many sanctions were issued, Ms Mooney said the number would be very low as “most issues are resolvable”. “There would be one or two that would result in eviction,” she said.

“The council investigates each case and works to resolve the issues. In very serious cases where there is no improvement in the situation following the council’s intervention, eviction proceedings are taken by the council. One or two such proceedings would be underway during the course of any year,” Ms Mooney stated after the meeting.

She also outlined that if the anti-social behaviour is occurring in a privately rented house then the council had no remit in applying a strategy to deal with this but that complaints could be registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board. Ms Mooney also clarified that those on rent supplement or in HSE provided accommodation did not fall under their remit but that legislation was due to be enacted to transfer these properties to the local authority and may then be subject to the same strategy as the local authority housing tenants.

Councillor Tom McNamara asked if a RAS tenant had the right to transfer or to be placed elsewhere should they be subjected to anti-social behaviour by neighbours.

“They could make a complaint to the PRTB. No they can’t move and we don’t transfer people,” Ms Mooney explained.

Councillor McNamara said it was an “awful” situation for people and Ms Mooney said she would welcome a change in legislation in this regard.