'I’m not going into a hostel at 70' - Vulnerable woman facing eviction speaks out

Some 4,741 notices of termination were issued to tenants by landlords in the months leading up to the eviction ban, figures from the Residential Tenancies Board showed last Friday, which renewed calls for a reversal of the ban. File picture

A 69-year-old woman with a litany of health problems has spoken of her fear that she will have to go into a hostel with the lifting of the eviction ban.

Mary Linden from Monaghan has lived in Dublin for over 40 years. She now has until May 1 to vacate her property which she has lived in for five years.

“I never thought I’d be in this situation, I’ll be 70 in May and I’ve had terrible health problems over the last six months. I don’t know where to turn now, I worked all my life and I’m not going into a hostel at 70 years of age, I just can’t,” she said.

Ms Linden said it was “horrible” when she heard the eviction ban was to be lifted on March 31. “You’re still waiting for them to maybe change their minds, I thought they would have,” she said.

The lifting of the eviction ban has sparked criticism from housing charities and TDs. It was revealed this week that 17 local authorities have no emergency accommodation for those who become homeless and a further five said they have “extremely limited” space.

Nonetheless, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has ruled out any extension of the ban saying while it will likely lead to a spike in homelessness, the ban itself merely pushed these evictions down the road.

Homeless charity Depaul has said it is “extremely disappointed and concerned” at the decision, while Focus Ireland has labelled it as a “mistake with significant consequences".

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Some 4,741 notices of termination were issued to tenants by landlords in the months leading up to the eviction ban, figures from the Residential Tenancies Board showed last Friday, which renewed calls for a reversal of the ban.

Ms Linden was due to leave the property on February 14 due to her landlord intending to sell. However following the ban, this was moved to May.

Ms Linden said her “hair is falling out with the stress”.

“I’m having a hysterectomy on May 19 and I have to go somewhere for two weeks to recuperate,” she said before adding that she had an accident in her line of work as a social carer which left her with an injured shoulder and knee.

“I can’t see an end to it and I know there are people worse off than myself but I’ve been on to everybody,” she said before adding that Alone has been a good support.

She said: "It’s just the stress of it all, where are they going to put all of these people?"

Although the eviction ban saved Ms Linden that time, she said it was never a relief due to having nowhere to go. After contacting her local authority this week, she was told they were “up to their eyes”. “They’re overrun, everybody is ringing them,” she said.

Ms Linden’s search is made more difficult by needing medical adjustments to the property, due to her health and physical condition.

She said:

Between the pain and crying, I don’t know where I am.

She is currently paying €1,400 which she splits with her partner of 30 years who is due to have a hip replacement in the coming months. “I honestly don’t know what to expect,” she said.

Alone CEO Seán Moynihan said the charity is already seeing the impact on older renters following the lifting of the eviction ban.

“We are currently working with older people who have received notices to quit their rental accommodation and others who are sleeping on sofas, living in cars or caravans, and in other unsuitable situations, because they have not been able to find alternative housing,” he said.

Mr Moynihan said, in the current rental climate, when an older person receives a notice to quit, the charity has to assume that they will not be able to find alternative rented accommodation.

“The competition is too high and the rents have become unaffordable for those who are dependent on a State pension. Even though notice periods have been extended, more time is not necessarily helpful when you are looking for something which isn’t there,” he said.

He said 224 days is the longest notice period renters are entitled to before they will have to leave their home.

The charity tries to support people to get them into social housing, which he said is oversubscribed too, and last year more than a quarter of applicants were aged 50 or over.

“There is a huge fear of going into emergency accommodation as an older person and fear of what that means and the stigma attached. People will go to great lengths to avoid that. But unfortunately, we do expect the number of older people becoming homeless and entering emergency accommodation to increase,” he said.

Mr Moynihan said the lack of security in the rental sector is not suitable for many older people, particularly those with health difficulties and on limited incomes.

He said as home ownership drops and more are renting into older age, stories such as Ms Linden's will become more and more common unless there are “serious changes” to the rental sector in Ireland and provision of suitable housing for the ageing population.

“Being at risk of homelessness at any age is a terrifying prospect, but perhaps even more so when you are facing it for the first time in older age,” he said.