Landlord exodus 'contributing to rise in homelessness'

'Most of the termination notices are as a result of the landlord deciding to sell the home,' said Threshold.

The exodus of landlords from the rental sector through selling up is putting households at immediate risk of homelessness, housing charity Threshold has warned.

In its latest quarterly report, Threshold said that the threat of eviction is the greatest issue facing private renters in Ireland, but over half of eviction notices given to tenants in the last quarter of 2022 were invalid.

The charity received 13,500 contacts from households through telephone or online between October and December 2022, and over one-third (36%) of queries came from renters who had received a notice of termination from their landlord.

Of the clients who reached out to Threshold in Q4 last year, 1,837 were at risk of homelessness and landlords selling up was the reason in the majority of cases.

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”.

“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.

Threshold’s data comes after a survey last week from the Society of Chartered Surveyors suggested that around two in five residential sale instructions to estate agents in the fourth quarter of 2022 were from landlords looking to sell investment properties.

Another report from Simon Communities of Ireland also showed just 41 properties available across the country for people in receipt of the housing assistance payment, with none at all in Cork City and its suburbs.

The number of people homeless in Ireland, meanwhile, continues to reach new peaks with a record 11,542 people in emergency accommodation in November.

Threshold said its work in the last three months of the year meant that 1,409 adults and 917 children either were able to stay in their homes or were supported to secure alternative housing.

Invalid termination notices

Threshold identified just over 40% of termination notices as invalid in the last three months of 2022. This rose to over 60% for notices citing rent arrears as a cause for termination.

Meanwhile, 50% of notices that stated the landlord or a family member was moving into the property were invalid. The charity said that when a notice is invalid, it can help the renter stay in the home.

It cites a number of case studies, including one couple who had been renting their home for more than 10 years who were told by their landlord that he was increasing the rent by €600. 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”.

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.” 

The Government has considered a number of moves to keep smaller landlords in the market, with moves such as lowering the 52% tax rate landlords must pay on rental income, additional reliefs on expenses, and changes to capital gains tax all being considered.

Last week, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that "nothing is off the table". Government sources have said that a decision will likely be made before the eviction ban expires at the end of March.

Mr Varadkar said last week that no decision had been made on extending the ban.

"We haven't made any decision as a Government on whether or not to extend [the ban]. There are a number of tools in our armoury which can prevent homelessness."

In last year's budget, the Government doubled pre-letting expenses for landlords to €10,000, and the time a property must be vacant was reduced from 12 to six months.