Wrecked council homes cost taxpayers €3.5m

TAXPAYERS have been forced to spend up to €3.5 million to repair council homes destroyed by evicted tenants in the past five years.

Figures obtained by the Irish Examiner show 133 homes have been left unliveable because of the damage caused by people evicted under antisocial behaviour orders.

Under the specific antisocial eviction criteria outlined in the 1997 Housing Act, a tenant can be told to leave their home for consistent aggressive behaviour against neighbours, making threats, and drug use, among other issues.

Official documents show millions of euro is being diverted from vital public services to cope with the growing number of cases they involve.

According to the Freedom of Information Act details, Dublin was the worst affected area during the period, with 110 antisocial behaviour evictions between 2004 and 2009 costing up to €3 million to repair.

This figure included 47 homes in Dublin City Council, more than half of which were “reclaimed” since January 2008; 42 homes in Dublin County Council; 17 properties in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council; and four dwellings in Fingal County Council.

The repair work – which included smashed windows, destroyed floors, faulty wires, badly damaged internal walls and missing electrical equipment, but was described by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown as “internal decorative works” – cost:

* Dublin County Council, €411,577, at an average cost of €9,515 per home.

* Fingal County Council, €80,000, at an average cost of €20,000 per home

Dublin City Council and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown did not provide costs.

However, a Dublin City Council spokesman confirmed that each repair case costs the local authority between €10,000 and €50,000, meaning between €470,000 and €2.35m has been spent since 2004.

The situation has been repeated in Limerick city council, where 61 properties were taken back by the local authority due to antisocial behaviour concerns during the period.

A spokesman for the local authority explained that while there were “nine evictions for breaches of tenancy agreements” over the five-year timeframe, the council also “achieved 52 surrenders of tenancies prior to the commencement of formal legal proceedings”.

Limerick City Council said the average repair cost for each building is €1,100.

However, the spokesman added “there have also been exceptions where significant work has been conducted”, including two homes which each suffered at least €10,500 in damages.

An average of 150 general evictions take place in Limerick city council every year.

In all, a total of 18 local authorities – including those in Carlow, Cork county council, Donegal, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Louth, Longford, Meath, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo and Wexford – reported no evictions under antisocial behaviour orders during the period.

However, the difficulties in Dublin and Limerick have been mirrored in other parts of the country.

In Westmeath, a county council spokesman explained that one facility cost a massive €50,000 to repair, while another in Wicklow led to €30,952 in expenses.

Cork City Council said it was forced to evict tenants from seven dwellings under antisocial behaviour orders during the same five-year period but could not provide a damage budget.

North Tipperary County Council and Clare County Council each reported one antisocial behaviour order eviction in 2008 involving repair costs of €12,600 and €10,345 respectively.

Reacting to the significant costs involved, Ciarán Lynch, Labour spokesman on Housing and Local Government, said the figures highlighted the need for new measures to screen tenants before they receive homes.

“Tenants do not generally start having anti-social behaviour issues 10 or 15 years in, there are signs on the first day,” said Mr Lynch.