Moves to tackle anti-social behaviour in Ennis estates

PLANS to strengthen controls over the private rented sector mark a positive step in tackling anti-social behaviour in housing estates in Ennis, according to former mayor and Ennis town councillor Michael Guilfoyle.

Meanwhile a representative body for property owners has said that landlords hands are tied when it comes to dealing with anti-social tenants if their neighbours are unwilling to take a stand against the behaviour.

 

Councillor Guilfoyle was speaking in response to correspondence from Minister of State for Housing and Planning Jan O’Sullivan outlining proposals for a Bill to come through in the autumn in relation to the Private Residential Tenancies Board.

At a meeting of Ennis Town Council in July concerns about anti-social behaviour in estates were relayed by councillors, and Councillor Guilfoyle urged that Clare’s Oireachtas members be contacted to call for legislation to be put in place to protect tenants in rented accommodation from “unscrupulous landlords” and that landlords be made accountable for the behaviour of tenants.

Deputy Joe Carey this week contacted the council outlining that Minister Jan O’Sullivan has confirmed that a Bill is due to come before the Dáil in relation to the PRTB. She stated that the bill aims to “strengthen control over private landlords and their tenants. I know there is a minority of such tenancies that are causing serious problems in all parts of the country.”

She also confirmed that the administration of rent supplement is being transferred from the Department of Social Protection to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government over the next two years.

Councillor Guilfoyle welcomed the correspondence saying that legislation needs to be put in place to ensure landlords are responsible for their tenants.

“People are living in fear in estates in Ennis and people are afraid to report what is happening to the gardaí. When people move into local authority housing there is a tenancy agreement in place but in a private estate there is no such agreement. Having met with Joe Carey and discussed the problem with anti-social tenants in Ennis, he made representations to the minister responsible on behalf of the people of Ennis. The government are now looking at a situation where maybe they can correct some of the difficulties that are present,” he said.

Councillor Guilfoyle also raised concerns about the effect the reduction in rent supplement has had on tenants in Ennis. “I have had representations from people who are looking to get on the local authority housing list because they just can’t pay their rent anymore. The landlords won’t reduce their rent because it’s paying their mortgage, but these tenants are getting less money. The landlords have to take a hit,” he said.

However, a spokeswoman for the Irish Property Owners Association (IPOA) accused the government of trying to impose “rent control” with the reduction in rent supplement.

“Market rent is set out in law as what a landlord is willing to take and what a tenant is willing to pay. The tenant approaches the landlord after the property is advertised at a price. That’s fair and square, the tenant can take the property or take a different property. They have that choice. The rent supplement is not market rent. The law doesn’t allow the landlord to vary the rent in the first year and that’s to protect both sides. Then it can be varied once a year at the market rate. The rent supplement is not the market rate, simple as that,” she said.

She stated that the organisation are aware of some landlords who have reduced rent while many are unable to afford it. “It’s an untenable situation for both tenants and landlords. Some landlords have agreed to reductions because they cannot bear to see the families put in this situation but an awful lot more landlords just can’t afford it. They can’t afford it because of the treatment of the private rental sector by government.”

She went on, “Both the landlord and tenant are innocent in all of this. What they are trying to do is force rent down, it’s rent control and it’s distorting the market.”

According to the 2011 census the private rental sector houses 19% of all households. Of the 305,000 households in the private rental market, 92,000 or 31% of the market involves the rent supplement. Of that, two thirds were on rent supplement prior to the downturn of the economy.

She said that many landlords are in negative equity and facing banking problems. She added, “We have the household charge, the non-principal property tax, our registration fees are up and landlords have to absorb a 25% reduction in mortgage interest relief. Standards are also increasing with the introduction of the Building Energy Rating. Landlords everyday costs are increasing. They are in a situation they cannot deal with it, they have no choice, they cannot deal with letting the property at a cost that is below the market rate. The treatment is unfair to both the landlaord and tenant.”

In relation to concerns about anti-social behaviour in private estates she agreed that something needs to be done to tackle the issue. However she said that unless those making complaints come forward there is little a landlord can do.

She explained, “Where you have extremely severe anti-social tenants the landlord will be told by their neighbours that they have antisocial tenants. But they are all afraid of them and the difficulty is they will not stand up. A landlord will notify the tenant in writing, they have to do that in law, that the behaviour is unacceptable and not to do it again. Then they can serve a notice of termination if it happens again.

“From then on he is in the lap of the PRTB, the landlord has to go to them and make a case and win that case. If the landlord goes in and tells them the tenants are anti-social, having parties and threatening neighbours, he will lose if he does not have those neighbours in there saying they were threatened. There needs to be something done when there is that level of intimidation. The last call I had was from a landlord and the whole neighbourhood is afraid of the tenant, but if nobody is going to stand behind him the PRTB will not uphold the termination and the tenant will be allowed stay on the property.”