Tenants face rent hikes over vandalism of homes

ROGUE tenants who deliberately vandalise council houses in the West Cork region are set to face increased rental charges as the county council seeks to recoup money for repairs.

Assistant county manager Theresa White has confirmed that she is looking at introducing penalties for those who deliberately damage their rented homes. She stressed that in some cases she’d come across damage that had amounted to over €10,000.

Ms White made her comments yesterday, just 24 hours after a council pre-budget meeting heard that 28 local authority houses were vacant in the region and some had been deliberately damaged.

Councillor Tadhg O’Donovan (FG) urged the council to appoint a special housing officer to carry out six-monthly checks on all local authority housing.

Independent councillor Christy O’Sullivan said the way some tenants failed to maintain their houses was a very serious issue.

However, Ms White was quick to point out that some tenants were neglecting their homes because they were simply incapable and these were not the people she would be targeting.

Ms White said that tenants who moved into new homes while their old ones were being repaired would face rent hikes so the council could recoup some of the repair bill. “I hope this will be a major deterrent,” she added.

Concern was expressed by councillors Noel Harrington (FG) and Donal O’Rourke (FF) about the number of council houses which have remained vacant for some length of time.

Mr Harrington claimed he knew of one house which was vacant for two years. Ms White said she would be “appalled” if this was the case and promised to investigate it.

Mayor of County Cork John O’Shea said not enough money was available to refurbish vacant houses.

“I’d like more money as well, but I’m trying to make the best of it,” Ms White said.