Hundreds of children and adults in Cork facing eviction when ban lifts 

A TOTAL of 308 Cork households are facing chilling uncertainty after being issued with notices to vacate in accordance with the lifting of a six-month eviction ban.

According to housing charity Threshold, some 434 adults and 250 children across Cork city and county will have to leave their homes on March 31 when the ban on evictions comes to a close.

The eviction ban was put in place at the end of last October as a safeguard during the critical winter period.

It protected tenants from eviction even in cases where valid notices were issued.

Threshold’s Assistant Regional Manager Regina Baylor expressed concern for tenants who have spent months trying to source a property in vain.

“The number of notices due to expire from the end of March is worrying,” Ms Baylor said.

“There were 308 valid notices of termination on file with a deferred date which is quite a lot if they have to go into emergency accommodation. Quite a lot of people are at their wits’ end worrying about what’s going to happen.”

Threshold’s southern regional manager Edel Conlon said it has seen cases where tenants have outstayed their notice period.

“It will be up to the tenants if they choose to vacate or not,” Ms Conlon said. “There are some families who will choose to withhold in the property. That’s not something we encourage because it’s against the legislation.

“However, they might end up overholding for a period of time. The landlord would then be required to go to the RTB to get a termination order which can be enforced through the courts if the tenants don’t comply. That’s not a nice environment to be living in for anyone who decides to take that route.”

Ms Conlon said anyone opting for this measure is doing so at their own risk. “Some people will choose this option in the hope that they might get something a week or 10 days later. In our experience people have only overhauled for a short period of time. We haven’t had any cases where they overhold for a long time. If the landlord chose to take the tenant to the RTB for overholding, they could be awarded damages for any loss incurred. This would be the case if there was a delay in the sale of the property.

“If they have arranged for a family member to move back in and that family member had to stay in a hotel for a length of time they could put in for those costs incurred. People need to be mindful of this if they do overhold as there is always a risk they will be required to pay out money.”

Meanwhile, Ms Baylor described the pressure those facing evictions in March are under, adding: “A three-bedroom semi can be anything from €1,800 to €2,500. These are not palaces, they are normal houses. These people have been searching. They are not sitting there waiting for this day to come. However, there just isn’t anything out there.”