Cork City Council tenant with disability feels dog is reason she cannot be moved out of damp accommodation

A CORK City Council tenant with a disability has claimed that because she has a dog she has twice been denied the chance to move out of damp, dilapidated accommodation.

Kayleigh (not her real name) is a 43-year-old social housing tenant living in a Fort Street council flat which has black mould on the walls.

Last September, tenants on Fort Street, Noonan’s Road, St Finbarr’s Road and Dean Street were told by Cork City Council that it favours rehousing tenants, demolishing the 60-year-old flats, and redeveloping the sites.

Now, around one-third of the Noonan’s Road and St Finbarr’s Road flats are shuttered, but Fort Street and Dean Street residents say they don’t know when they’ll be moved.

Kayleigh, a Ballyphehane native, has been in her flat for 13 years and lives with her best friend, a tiny, 10-year-old rescue Chihuahua-terrier cross.

“The reason I can’t get a place is because of the dog, I have him since he was six-weeks-old,” she said.

Kayleigh has a disability, and in 2019 she suffered a stroke and an aneurysm, subsequently requiring brain surgery.

“I had to completely relearn how to walk and talk, and I still lose my words. My balance was badly affected, and my left side is still worse than the right.”

The window frames in her home are taped together in an attempt to prevent drafts, and black mould dots the door and window surrounds.

“The bedroom is full of dampness. I have very bad asthma, I’m on two inhalers.”

Kayleigh’s cramped shower unit contains a plastic-wrapped stool.

“I have to sit sideways on it because the door opens inward and I’m constantly afraid I’ll go flying through the glass,” she said. “I asked the council for a walk-in shower with a seat seven years ago, and I’m still waiting to hear back,” she claimed.

Outside, a crumbling balcony is supported by scaffolding and a timber brace, erected after a previous brace came away a fortnight ago.

Kayleigh has requested a transfer to a new home, but she believes the fact she has a pet has gone against her.

“I would love a little bungalow with a small garden, but I’ve missed out twice and I feel it was because of my dog.”

She said that although her quality of life is badly affected by remaining in the flat, she cannot live without her dog.

“I’m not going anywhere without my dog, he’s my life and my soul.”

Housing activist William O’Brien said Kayleigh is one of many people in the regeneration process who find that having a pet limits their opportunities.

“People’s pets are members of their families, and if a family is being uprooted, then the whole family unit has to be moved, and allowances have to be made,” he said.

Mick Finn, Independent councillor for Cork City South-Central, said he had made repeated representations on Kayleigh’s behalf.

“Vulnerable tenants need to be expedited in their transfer out of these outdated apartments,” he said.

He said pets are not a problem in most council properties, but some approved housing bodies don’t allow pets, thus limiting the options available to pet-owning tenants.

A spokesperson for Cork City Council said that, generally, tenants are allowed to have a maximum of two domestic pets, which must be kept under control at all times.

They added that some multi-unit apartment complexes may have rules forbidding dogs, and council tenants living in there would have to abide by those rules.

“When advertising the availability of such properties on the City Council’s Choice Based Letting system, it would be clearly advertised that dogs would not be allowed and persons would, therefore, be aware of the rule before considering whether to bid for the property or not,” they said.