€750,000 bill for homes ‘trashed’ by evicted tenants

UP to €750,000 will be spent this year by Dublin City Council on repairing properties “destroyed and trashed” by tenants evicted on antisocial grounds.

Figures obtained by the Irish Examiner show that, since the start of 2008, a total of 26 evictions have been made by the council due to concerns over drug issues and intimidation of neighbours in the area.

Since January, 11 anti-social behaviour evictions have been made by the council, costing the taxpayer between €10,000 and €50,000 per house due to the condition the dwellings are left in.

As a result, a senior council official said that €150,000 to €750,000 is needlessly being spent on refurbishments every year in order to make the homes liveable for future tenants.

“It would be commonplace for us to find dwellings in that condition that have been trashed,” explained Mick Clarke, area housing manager assigned to antisocial behaviour at the council.

“The two main anti-social behaviour issues for evictions are drug or alcohol abuse and threats or intimidation.

“A lot of the properties we find are in very poor condition. The amount of damage caused can be quite serious, and a lot of the time the houses are left completely unliveable.”

News of the significant expense came after a dwelling in Finglas south, north Dublin, was left “unliveable” after €50,000-worth of damage was caused with a sledge hammer before an anti-social behaviour eviction.

The home on Dunsink Green was badly damaged when Dublin City Council officials issued an eviction notice on the family living at the premises over claims one of the people living at the location was involved in drugs. It is understood the family have said they did not cause the damage.

Since the start of last year 25 similar cases have occurred in Dublin City Council dwellings, a figure significantly higher than other parts of the country.

Limerick City Council has reported seven anti-social behaviour evictions during the same period, compared with more than 150 total repossessions a year, with an average refurbishment cost per house of €8,000.

While no figures were immediately available from Cork City Council, a spokesperson said refurbishment costs for repossessions was not a serious issue in the region.