Over 5,500 tenancy disputes resolved under new discretionary local authority powers

More than 5,500 tenancy disagreements with landlords over rent supplement have been resolved by authorities this year under new discretionary local authority powers.

Tánaiste Joan Burton has also confirmed that new tax breaks for landlords taking on rent supplement tenants will come into effect in the new year. The combined measures are an attempt to address homelessness and spiralling rents which are forcing families out of their rental properties.

The Fine Gael-Labour Coalition is facing criticism over the housing crisis as figures yesterday showed 1,000 children are homeless at the moment.

Ms Burton told RTÉ: “Any child in temporary accommodation is deeply regrettable, one child is deeply regrettable.”

She said that all together, some 14,000 families and individuals were being housed now under a range of schemes supported by the State and local authorities.

More than 5,500 cases of disputes over rents and problems for rent supplement tenants have been resolved by community welfare officers in the last year.

These include the resolution of 2,117 cases in Dublin, 247 in Meath, 218 in Cork, and 190 in Kildare, according to figures supplied by the Department of Social Protection.

Ms Burton also said some 2,500 vacant properties had been opened up for families and homeless people over the last year.

Local authorities had also bought 1,000 houses, she added, for families.

Meanwhile, landlords will get new tax breaks for renting properties to tenants on rent supplement in the new year, as part of budget measures.

“That will start on January 1 and it will give them additional tax relief on their mortgage costs,” explained Ms Burton.

She said: “I believe when accountants and other advisers advise landlords about that, that that will make the social rent option much more attractive to landlords.”

But Sinn Féin highlighted the significant number of families and children this Christmas who would be left homeless or in temporary accommodation.

Party leader Gerry Adams said: “That’s the legacy of this Government as it approaches 2016 and it’s shameful. ”

Figures released by Focus Ireland yesterday show that there are more than 1,000 children under the age of eight who will be homeless this Christmas.

A preliminary report by the charity campaigning to help those without homes found that two-thirds of those surveyed were under the age of eight and almost 40% were aged four and younger.

The charity said if the figures from the survey were applied to the total number of homeless children in Ireland, that more than 1,000 — 1,037 — would be aged eight and under.

Focus Ireland said it had conducted the first analysis of the age profile of homeless children in Ireland. Its report will be released in full next month and will also examine the travel times between emergency accommodation and schools.