Mother fears homelessness after rejecting property ‘not fit for a dog’

A mother who has spent almost a year in emergency accommodation with her two daughters fears being made homeless tomorrow after refusing a local authority offer of a tiny basement flat described by campaigners as “not fit for a dog”.

The case prompted calls last night for a complete overhaul of the housing assistance payment (HAP) property inspection regime.

HAP is a form of social housing support which sees tenants pay a weekly rent contribution to the local authority, based on their income and ability to pay.

Claudia O’Callaghan, 35, became homeless last October when a bank repossessed from her landlord the house she was renting on Cork’s northside.

Claudia O’Callaghan and her fiancé Enrikas Ringys who face homelessness after refusing a HAP rental property that campaigners say isn’t fit for a dog.

She said she spent several months with her family in emergency accommodation in the city before they were placed by the council in a property in Cobh about five months ago.

Council housing staff recently offered her a HAP property in the harbour town. It’s a two-storey, two-bedroom flat, apparently built inside a basement storage area. It has three tiny windows, one in the kitchen and two upstairs, all looking out at a wall just a few feet away. It is dark and dingy, with mould on the ceilings and holes in some of the walls.

Ms O’Callaghan said she just couldn’t accept it, for the sake of her children and their health.

“I’m not fussy. I would take a council house anywhere but this place just isn’t liveable. I just can’t take it,” she said.

“I’ve signed papers to refuse the offer, and the council has told me it will now stop my emergency accommodation payments on Friday.

“I’ll have to declare myself homeless again but won’t be able to do that until Monday. I’ll buy a tent and live in a tent instead if I have to.”

Housing campaigner Catherine Coffey, who is supporting Ms O’Callaghan, said the situation highlights the appalling gaps in the HAP property inspection regime.

“You wouldn’t put a dog in there. If you put an animal in this, the ISCPA would be after you,” she said.

“This is taxpayers’ money and they shouldn’t be allowed to get away with handing it over to private landlords with places like this.”

In Dublin, the city council paid private landlords some €88m for tenancies under the HAP scheme in 2018.

In Cork, hundreds of privately-owned properties rented out under HAP and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) failed to meet basic standards related to heating, fire safety and gas, oil and electricity.

In the city, about 120 RAS and HAP properties were inspected but only a quarter were given full certification.

The most common reasons for failure were inadequate ventilation, a lack of carbon monoxide alarms and no window restrictors.