Number of tenants issued termination notices rises to 4,753 in Q1 2023

Kenneth Fox

The number of tenants who were issued with termination notices (NOTs) increased to 4,753 in the first three months of 2023.

That is up from 4,329 notices issued in the last quarter of 2022 and 4,741 in the third quarter of that year.

The breakdown shows that 2,631 or 55 per cent of all notices are because a landlord is selling up.

A total of 13,800 NOTs have been issued to tenants since July 2022.

Speaking about the figures, Focus Ireland director of advocacy Mike Allen said: "It is highly worrying to see this continued rise of intended evictions at any time but especially now as the latest figures issued on Friday show a record total of over 12,000 people homeless."

“Since July 2022, when rules around NOTs changed, over 13,800 NOTs have been served to tenants.

"Nearly 8,000 households who have received an eviction notice since then because their landlord intends on selling the property.

"The safety net of the tenant-in-situ scheme introduced at the end of the eviction ban, and the Government’s target of purchasing 1,500 properties with the tenant in the property this year, will likely not come close to the real need of the number of households losing their homes because their landlords choosing to sell unless changes are made now."

Mr Allen said the families and individuals who are receiving state supports to rent their homes need to be protected and are at high risk of homelessness if these properties are not sold while they remain in place.

Focus Ireland also highlighted the trend of 861 NOTs that were issued in the first quarter of this year was because the landlord or a family member intends to move into the property.

"Critically the tenants in these cases will not qualify for any of the tenant in situ supports because the property is not being sold," he said.