Donegal County Council has been urged to seek rent freezes for social housing tenants in defective concrete homes.
Some social houses are in such a ‘diabolical state’ of decay that vermin are coming through the cracks, says 100% Redress Party Councillor Tomás Seán Devine.
With some social housing rents rising between €10-€27 this year, Cllr Devine said that rents should be either frozen or reduced for those in homes that are becoming uninhabitable.
“It’s not right to have people living in homes with vermin coming through,” Cllr Devine told this month’s meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford MD.
“You wouldn’t pay for a hotel room like that, it’s not fair that social housing tenants are paying high rents for houses that are not fit for living in.”
He added: “Some of these homes are in a desperate state. Again, I call on the rent to be stopped or at the very least reduced.”
It’s estimated that 1800 council-owned homes across Donegal are affected by defective concrete, with 81 of those homes now vacant.
In response to Cllr Devine’s motion, a council spokesperson said that while it is not possible to halt rents, there is a ‘hardship clause’ for tenants experiencing financial difficulty to apply for discretion on a case-by-case basis. This clause was noted as the “appropriate mechanism for tenants to seek rent relief where they are experiencing higher than normal exceptional personal costs.”
Tenants with maintenance issues are advised to contact their local Housing Maintenance Team.
Cllr Devine was also told that, of the 1,598 social housing units in Letterkenny, 103 have been cored and samples extracted. Test results and recommendations for remediation have been received for 30 of these units. The remaining units are awaiting final test results and recommendations.
