Eviction remains most serious issue facing private renters, warns charity

Termination notices are placing renters at risk of homelessness, with so few properties available to rent, said Threshold.

Half of tenancy termination notices, outside of property sales, were found to be invalid by housing charity Threshold as it said that evictions remain the most serious issue facing private renters in Ireland.

Threshold advisers identified just over 40% of termination notices to be deemed invalid in the last three months of 2022. This rose to 50% for notices that stated the landlord or a family member was moving into the property and to over 60% for notices citing rent arrears as a cause for termination.

The charity said that when a notice is invalid, it can help the renter to stay in the home.

It said that, between October and December 2022, it prevented 1,041 households from entering homelessness, meaning that 1,409 adults and 917 children either were able to stay in their homes or were supported to secure alternative housing.

The majority of these renters were at risk of homelessness as their landlord was choosing to sell the home, according to Threshold. According to the latest figures, a record 11,542 people were accessing homeless services in Ireland.

Threshold national advocacy manager Ann-Marie O’Reilly said high volumes of people were getting in touch with the charity, with tenancy termination “the highest concern”.

'Selling the home'

“Most of these termination notices are as a result of the landlord deciding to sell the home, and the majority of these notices are valid; renters are being placed at immediate risk of homelessness, particularly with so few properties available to rent,” she said.

Citing one case, the charity said a couple who had been renting their home for over 10 years were told by their landlord that he was increasing the rent by €600 and that, when they said they couldn’t afford this, he said he would sell the home.

Furthermore, the landlord did not return their deposit as he “needed it to bring the property up to standard to relet”.

Threshold said that it assisted the couple to lodge a dispute with the Residential Tenancies Board, which eventually awarded the couple the return of their deposit and the maximum sum possible for the unlawful termination of the tenancy.

Ms O’Reilly added: “The fact that we received over 11,000 calls in the space of three months from the public shows that there is a real need for our service. People should not panic or take any immediate action if they receive an eviction notice, or a steep rent rise — they should contact Threshold first.

“A significant portion of these notices are invalid and, therefore, the tenant has some recourse.”