'The dreaded Notice of Termination' - the Limerick Leader's Meghann Scully reports
LIKE many millennials in this day and age, I am a renter. I have lived in the same apartment since I moved back to Limerick in 2016. I wanted a place to call home and a place to call my own.
Buying a home simply was not an option for me. Then with Covid-19 and lockdowns, I lost a lot of work and therefore couldn’t even get mortgage approval. But by that stage, I had settled into the comforts of my rented accommodation - house plants bursting with life in the living room, rugs and cushions chosen to add a pop of colour, and furniture to store my ever expanding wardrobe. Little clues to a decade of my life dotted all about the place.
While I knew the reality of being a renter meant nothing lasts forever, there’s still that glimmer of hope that perhaps, one day, this will be my forever home.
Alas, that dream was shattered on Monday when the letter arrived - Notice of Termination.
While I consider myself lucky to have six months to vacate, I couldn’t help but feel sad at the impending life-changing move I will have to make. I’ve created a home, a place I finally feel safe in and a place that is like my sanctuary in an ever busy world.
But with every negative, there are the positives - I've been so heartened by the response from people including friends and family who can offer me a bed when and if I need it.
My reality is I will commute from my home house in Galway if I have to. That is not an option for so many people waking up in Ireland this week, opening the letter box and reading the terms of their eviction. Families, single parents, people of another nationality who do not have family close by. Those who cannot work and rely on government funding.
On the other hand, there are landlords who need the house back for themselves or perhaps a child who needs it for University, a sale that has to happen because of changing circumstances.
The issue is for the thousands of people who will need to pack up their belongings and find somewhere new to live, where will we all go?
Currently on Daft.ie there are seven properties to rent in Limerick city which include a two-bedroom apartment for €2,150, a one-bed for €2,000 and one-bed for €2,250. That in itself tells its own story.
While this time is unsettling, I have a bed to call my own for a few more months and I'm very thankful for that. But what about so many others who will have nowhere to call home?