Charity in stark warning of looming ‘hidden' and even worse housing crisis

Barnardos has warned of a “hidden housing crisis” involving thousands of families who are not yet in emergency accommodation but who are too afraid to leave substandard accommodation out of fear they could become homeless.

In a briefing paper to be published today, the children’s charity outlines the stark experiences of many families, as conveyed to Barnardos staff.

It includes one Barnardos worker spotting a rat running around a kitchen, and a Cork family consisting of two adults and three children — one of whom is terminally ill — having to sleep in a car for three weeks while they waited to be placed in a hotel.

There has been increasing pressure on all political parties to focus their efforts on easing the housing crisis, with about 1,600 children already living in emergency accommodation, including hotels and B&Bs.

Just last week it emerged there was a further delay to the modular housing schemes due for completion this year in Dublin, prompting more calls for measures to prevent families becoming homeless in the first place.

According to the Barnardos briefing paper: “There is a hidden housing crisis; namely thousands of families in Ireland living in substandard, overcrowded, or unsafe accommodation, unable to move or demand better because they have no other options.”

Domestic violence and family breakdown are influenced by poor housing conditions, in turn adding to the homeless crisis as home life becomes untenable.

“Families are stuck in this unsuitable accommodation because there are no available alternatives open to them, and because they are not homeless they are effectively ignored by authorities who are trying to tackle the escalating numbers presenting as homeless.”

Barnardos said new measures need to be taken, including linking rents to the consumer price index to ensure greater security for tenants, and ensuring tenants be given the option to stay in their rented accommodation if it is repossessed by a creditor.