A councillor has claimed that council houses intended for people on low incomes are being rented out on Airbnb.
Cllr Micheal Cholm Mac Giola Easbuig also said social housing units are being let on a long-term basis while the tenant lives elsewhere.
“People are pretending to be living in them, but they are renting out their council houses on Airbnb and other platforms,” he said.
The independent representative for the Glenties Municipal District says the illegal practice is taking place all over the county.
He said he raised the issue at the last Glenties MD meeting, but has been met with a wall of silence from Donegal County Council.
As a result, he has asked Independent TD, Thomas Pringle, to formally raise the issue in the Dáil.
“If people are given council houses, they’re given them because they can’t afford to buy their own home,” he continued.
“We as council are here to manage our housing stock. But, people move into another house and either leave it empty or rent it out long-term, or short-term on Airbnb. People are on housing lists for years, and this is just adding to the problem.”
Cllr Mac Giola Easbuig is calling on the council to carry out an audit of their social housing stock as soon as possible.
“We need to find out how many of these houses are lying empty, or rented out. And the council needs to make those findings public.”
He also said it was ‘totally unfair’ that refugees were being blamed for Ireland’s housing crisis.
“This crisis was created by successive governments who merely succeeded in making certain rich people richer. This is not the fault of refugees, it’s the fault of capitalism,” he added.
We asked Donegal County Council for a comment on the illegal renting claims.
Tags: