Cork City Council owed €5m rent as half of tenants in arrears

Cork City Council is owed almost €5m in rent arrears, with more than half of its tenants behind in their payments.

The council has provided for €2.5m in bad debts after figures from the Local Government Audit Service show City Hall was owed €4.7m in rent arrears at the end of 2015.

It is the latest spike in the city’s rent arrears which have been rising steadily in recent years — from €2.7m in 2012 to €3.3m in 2013 and €4m in 2014.