Calls in Tipperary for more action on ‘slum landlords'

Councillor Annemarie Ryan has called on the council to take action against landlords who provide accommodation “unfit for habitation”.

She and Cllr David Dunne put forward a motion at last week’s full sitting of Tipperary County Council asking the council to prohibit landlords who rent to council tenants but fail to comply with improvement notices from renting.

Cllr Ryan said that she has visited properties in “horrendous conditions” that have no cooking facilities, pests or unhealthy levels of dampness.

Cllr Ryan told members that she knows of one family where the damp is so bad the daughter has to sleep in a chair.

“There is a minority of landlords who exploit vulnerable people in our county.

“It’s about human dignity. People should not be living in the squalor I have seen and making money off it,” said Cllr Ryan.

Cllr Ryan said she “does not take the matter lightly” in a housing crisis, and landlords have to be given enough time to improve. But if they are inspected again and still fail to comply, further action would be needed.

Cllr David Dunne seconded the motion saying that the motion would not target good landlords, only those who are not doing their duty.

He said the council must act because tenants are too scared of losing their homes to speak up.

“There are slum landlords in every town, and greed is their motivation,” said Cllr Dunne. The motion read:

“That Tipperary County Council commence the legal practice of issuing prohibition notices to landlords who have been served with an improvement notice and have failed to make the necessary remedial works.

“A prohibition notice is served when the housing authority is of the opinion that the landlord has failed to comply with an improvement notice served on them.

“The prohibition notice directs the landlord not to re-let the privately rented house for rent or other valuable consideration until the contraventions to which the improvement notice relates have been remedied.”

Cllr Ryan said she was happy with the council’s response.

A ROGUE ELEMENT

Most councillors supported the motion. Cllr Siobhan Ambrose said she had assumed this was already being done.

Cllr Pat English said that this is only a small number of landlords, but it does need to be tackled.

“We need to treat these rogue landlords, and they should be and take them out of the system.

Cllr Kieran Bourke said he had concerns initially with the motion, but having heard the arguments he would support it.

He said there is a street in Carrick On Suir “awash with slum landlords” and tenants are worried about losing their homes.

A DELICATE SITUATION

However, Cllr Fitzgerald called it a “delicate situation” and asked the council to be careful how they apply the notices.

Cllr Fitzgerald said he agreed with “the spirit of the motion.”

But he said that landlords need tenants and tenants need landlords, but many are leaving the market, contributing to the housing crisis.

“Can you give them any more excuses for leaving the industry? I would deal with this delicately,” said Cllr Fitzgerald.

He also said that landlords have to be let make a profit and pay a lot of tax.

Cllr Fitzgerald said he believed that the market has “corrected itself” with the less committed landlords already out of the market and rents “sufficiently high.”

GETTING SERIOUS

The housing section’s Johnathon Cooney said the council will be more "proactive" on improvement notices in 2024.

He said that they will properties on a case-by-case basis, issuing improvement notices after an inspection and deciding how to act if no improvement is made.

“We are going to be more proactive than we have been,” said Mr Cooney.

Director of the housing section Sinead Carr told councillors if they have concerns about specific properties, to let them know, and they will look into it.

The motion was proposed and seconded.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Ger Darcy declared it passed and noted some councillor’s concerns.