Laois council tenants reporting higher rent demand by some housing bodies
Laois council tenants placed in Approved Housing Body owned homes, may have to pay increasingly higher rents that those living in other council owned rental houses, it has been claimed.
Most of the new homes being built for social housing in Laois, are owned by approved housing bodies, with people from the council's housing waiting list offered homes in them.
Portlaoise councillors reacted in shock this week, upon hearing anecdotal stories that two tenants, one with disabilities, the other a lone parent of four, have been hit with unexpected rent rises.
Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley made the claim, adding that the two tenants also faced huge electricity bills.
"Two ladies came to me. One is a lone parent with four children. Her rent in a house owned by a approved housing body has gone from €86.30 to €128, that is way above our maximum rent. That is up by €41 (a week). A whopper of a bill.
"Her electricity bill for a quarter was €690. There are two days a week now that she can't afford to turn on the heating, and that's before the cold snap.
"The person with the disability feels that the small increase in the budget every year is being taken off them. It appears that rent reviews will happen annually," Cllr Dwane Stanley said.
She said that Laois County Council only carries out rent reviews every five years for its tenants.
"That seems a complete disparity. I only found this out three or four weeks ago when they came to me. I was shocked," she said.
"These tenants are taken off our waiting list. We have a responsibility to them. If there is a gap, people will say 'I don't want to go and live there'. Everyone is facing rising costs, energy costs, the cost of living. I ask that we get on top of this as soon as possible. I was of the view that rents were calculated in the same way we do them," Cllr Dwane Stanley said.
She tabled a motion to the December meeting of the Portlaoise Municipal district, asking for the council to liaise with AHBs to ask if they have a maximum rent for tenants.
In answer, housing officer Georgina Ireland said that an annual AHP forum with local authorites takes place on December 8 and the query will be raised to it, with a response to follow.
Cllr Willie Aird said if the concerns are true, an emergency meeting is needed.
"This is crazy stuff.
"I'm surprised. I made representations for a person who felt their rent was too high in Birchgrove, it had gone up by €1.10. We were told they assessed them on income, the very same as the council. If that's not the case we need to have an emergency meeting.
"We don't have any builders employed in local authorites any more. We are totally dependent on AHBs to deliver all our housing, we can't have a difference in rent. That's the guarantee we get," he said.
Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald described it as "a very serious issue".
"I'd say 80% of social houses given out in Portlaoise are all approved housing body houses. If this is right, they will all be paying higher rents. It would be totally wrong if they're allowed to charge more and we're dependent on them," she said.
Cllr John Joe Fennelly said Cllr Dwane Stanley is correct.
"An apartment costs way more than a council maisonette. I rang and was told they are different schemes. The person will have to apply to Laois County Council for a rent subsidy to bring the rent back down to the level they would be paying to the council. That was only three weeks ago," he said.
Cllr Dwane Stanley ruled out two major Irish housing bodies, but declined to name the one in question.
"We regularly use this one. I want to give them the opportunity to come back and say what is the maximum rent. People wait years for a house," she said.
Cllr Noel Tuohy said people are "taking one hit after another".
Cllr Aird requested to seek a response directly from the Director of Services for Housing, Angela McEvoy, on the issue.