A ban on winter evictions has been criticised by a Clare auctioneer for doing little to solve the underlying problems of the housing crisis.
The Government has signed off on an evictions ban until the end of March, after the Attorney General gave plans the go-ahead legally.
Cabinet Ministers met this morning to approve a ban on winter evictions.
Legislation has been drafted by the Department of Housing, but is expected to take a number of weeks to pass the Oireachtas, with one source in the Department eyeing November 1st as an implementation date.
It will mean no tenant can be evicted between the commencement of the law and the end of March.
There will be exceptions for those willfully not paying rent, those who damage a property, or those engaging in criminal behaviour.
Those who have already been issued with a notice to quit can’t be evicted, if their mandatory notice period ends after the new legislation is enacted.
If passed, it would mean for tenants being issued notices to quit this week, the absolute earliest they could have to leave the property would be the start of July 2023.
The Tánaiste has said it will give the government ‘breathing space’ to put more social housing in place.
Just weeks after saying such a ban would only store up problems for Spring, Leo Varadkar is now backing the move.
A Clare auctioneer has questioned what difference the move will make, saying there appears to be a game of political football being played.
Diarmuid McMahon of Sherry Fitzgerald McMahon claims this is just a knee-jerk reaction that does little to solve the underlying issue.
He believes the devil will be in the detail.
The Chair of Clare County Council’s housing committee has labelled the move a distraction, at a time when we’re in the eye of the storm of the housing crisis.
Local authority housing stock currently stands at just over 2,750, with 1,220 tenancies through private landlords and leases, while rental accommodation schemes total 408.
However the Council has a net need of 1,462.
Shannon Independent Councilor Gerry Flynn doesn’t support the legislation, saying it’s putting more barriers in the way for private landlords.
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