Cork County Council tenants ‘did not receive request about rent hike’

Cork County Council tenants say they have been hit with significant rent hikes for failing to provide the local authority with information — despite their claim of being unaware of any such request.

The council is currently in the process of implementing the County Wide Differential Rent Scheme, a programme put in place following the abolition of Town Councils that aims to standardise rental rates for tenants.

Some tenants have received notifications that their rents will rise next month because they have failed to provide information on their household incomes, which the council says it requested under the scheme.

However Cork East Labour TD Sean Sherlock says he has received a number of representations in the past week from tenants facing a rent hike who say they were never told the council was seeking such information.

“Tenants of the council are receiving letters out of the blue informing them that their rents are increasing by 84% in certain situations,” said Mr Sherlock.

“This is, as correspondence outlines, that documentation is still pending on household incomes, yet many residents have contacted me to say this is the first communication of its kind they have received from Cork County Council.

“It is quite upsetting to tenants who have been paying their rent on time for years and have no arrears currently outstanding, just to be told here is a larger-than-life rent hike,” he said.

Some tenants have had their new rental rate set at €170 a week for failing to supply the council with information, according to a letter to one tenant seen by the Irish Examiner.

Cork County Council insists it told tenants of the need to provide the information requested.

“Tenants were written to in April 2017 seeking up to date household income and household formation,” a spokesperson said.

“Tenants that did not respond or who provided incomplete information were written to on two further occasions.

“Thereafter when a tenant did not provide the required information they were contacted by their Area Officer.

“In cases where the required information has not been provided on time a penalty rent of €170 has now been applied, pending receipt of the required complete up to date information. On receipt of the required information a new rent calculation will be made and a balancing position will be determined on a case by case basis,” the council said.