Council tenants owe €65m in unpaid rent

Arrears by social housing tenants have doubled in the last eight years, leaving councils owed a staggering €65m in unpaid rent.

But while thousands of households are under repeated default warnings every year, only a tiny number of cases are pursued to court and just a handful of evictions are sought as councils are also responsible for housing people if they become homeless.

A leading expert on housing policy says it may now be time to provide rent-free social housing in certain areas.