Charity prevents more than 1,100 households from becoming homeless

Housing charity Threshold has said it helped prevent more than 1,100 households from becoming homeless in recent months.

In its latest report, it said that evictions remain the biggest issue facing private renters.

From July until September this year, Threshold helped 1,758 adults and 1,185 children stay in their homes or supported them to secure alternative housing.

It responded to one call every 20 minutes on average from private renters facing eviction in the first nine months of the year.

Some 1,384 private renters sought Threshold’s help when they received a notice of termination from their landlord, with 60% of notices issued because the landlord intended to sell the property. Threshold identified that 46% of notices were invalid.

The report also details how an average of 472 private renters a month, who were facing eviction, sought assistance from Threshold between January and September this year.

The housing charity said the level of “insecurity and precarity” of renters continues to increase.

It said there has been an increasing dominance of queries relating to security of tenure including tenancy terminations, queries about possible terminations and advice on leases, since 2019.

In the first three quarters of the year, queries about tenancy terminations surpassed the total number for 2021, and were significantly higher than pre-pandemic times in 2019.

For those who were being evicted over the last three months, Threshold was able to help under half to remain in their home. However, 20% had to move to a new home, 8% went to stay with family and friends and 8% entered homelessness.

Threshold CEO John-Mark McCafferty said: “In the first nine months of the year, over 50% of queries received by Threshold concerned security of tenure and tenancy termination.

“This level of queries surpassed the number received on the same issue for the entirety of 2021 and was over double the number received in 2020.

“We are continuing to see a large exodus of landlords from the private rental sector, resulting in fewer properties available to rent and fewer housing alternatives for households who are facing eviction.

“Given the increasingly dire situation, it was necessary for the Government to introduce a ban on evictions to allow for short and medium–term solutions to be implemented to combat the growing rental crisis.”

The charity has called on the Government to bring in a number of other measures to alleviate pressure on private tenants and landlords.

It has pressed for a reduction to the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) payable when a landlord sells a rental home with the tenant in situ to a local authority or approved housing body.

It also called for a reduction on the rate of tax on rental incomes from properties subject to long-term lease agreements, at a minimum of 10 years, to increase security of tenure.

The charity also wants to see an increase in schemes and targets to return vacant homes for use in the rental sector and necessary measures to return properties from the short-term rental sector to the long-term rental sector.

It comes as Minister for Public Expenditure Micheal McGrath said the government will not meet its target for social housing this year.

He said the government expects to deliver some 8,000 social homes, 1,000 short of its target.

“In relation to direct social housing building, the target for 2022 is 9,000. We don’t believe at this juncture that 9,000 will be met,” Mr McGrath told RTE.

“Minister (for Housing) Darragh O’Brien estimated last week that it would be of the order of 8,000 for 2022.”