720 eviction notices issued in Cork in second quarter of 2023

SOME 720 notices to terminate were issued to tenants in Cork in the second quarter of this year, with a Cork housing charity describing the situation as "frightening".

Nationally, 5,735 eviction notices were issued to tenants after the no-fault eviction ban was lifted by the Government at the end of May, new figures from the Residential Tenancies Board show.

The number of notices represents an increase of almost 1,000 on the previous quarter. 

Homelessness numbers have also continued to rise since the no fault eviction ban was lifted with a record 12,600 people in emergency accommodation nationwide at the end of June.

Speaking to The Echo, Linda McKernan, assistant manager of Threshold’s Southern Regional Services Office, said: 

“We are seeing a huge number of notices coming in. We are dealing with people of all ages - it is right across the age spectrum. We are seeing a lot of older people who have now found themselves in this situation having rented all their lives and they now face with a notice of termination. "The stress levels are absolutely huge, and they are left wondering where they go from here," she added. 

"We are dealing with a lot of young people, single people, and people with large families. It is really frightening."

Ms McKernan said officials were anticipating an increase in the number of notices to terminate after the no-fault eviction ban was lifted, describing the numbers seen as an onslaught.
“We were anticipating those numbers - we couldn’t predict the percentage breakdown but we knew there was going to be a huge rise in the number of notices of termination being served on tenants," she explained.

"The difficulty is that we have such an onslaught of notices of termination. It is just checking if people are on the social housing list and confirming then with the council. We are engaging with people around the Tenant In-Situ Scheme and that does seem to be working quite well," she added.

"There does seem to be a high uptake on it and when the council are engaging, it seems to be going through quickly."
Ms McKernan explained that some people are facing eviction notices after falling behind on rent and she described the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) as "too low".

"We are referring them to the local authorities," she said. 

"The local authorities have a finite number of accommodation availability, and where do you go from there?"

Solutions 

Ms McKernan said several solutions need to be implemented by the relevant authorities to reduce the numbers of notices and the number of homeless people nationally. 

“There needs to be less emphasis on private rentals and there needs to be an increase in social housing stock," she explained. 

"We need to look at the bigger picture, looking at legislation around no-fault evictions so that tenants don’t find themselves in this situation because a landlord decides to sell. This is the fall out now and the main issue.”