10,000 complain about behaviour of tenants; complainants as likely to move as offenders
By Noel Baker
More than 10,000 complaints of antisocial behaviour were made to local authorities in the last two years, many relating to housing, according to new figures.
Data collected by the Irish Examiner under Freedom of Information shows 10,572 complaints were lodged with the 31 different local authorities in 2015 and 2016, although one council had incomplete records for last year, meaning the final figure might be higher.
The number of antisocial behaviour complaints received by Dublin City Council rose by almost one third last year, with the council getting 1,385 notifications.
There was also an increase in the number of complaints lodged with Fingal County Council, up to 653 last year compared with 610 in 2015. In South Dublin County Council, figures showed 725 complaints in 2015 and 710 up to the end of November 2016.
Outside the capital, the local authorities with the largest number of complaints lodged across both years included Wexford County Council (563 cases), Limerick (450), Louth (397), Wicklow (383), Sligo (311), Kilkenny (304), Tipperary (300), Cork City (300), Cork County Council (239), Kildare (240), Offaly (234), Waterford (222), Meath (198), and Carlow (183).
By contrast, Galway County Council said it had logged just five complaints across the two years. Galway City Council said more than 15 warning letters were issued across 2015 and 2016.
When it came to steps to remove problem tenants from council housing, just 12 evictions were actually carried out across the two years, with Dublin City Council having the most, with four.
Adding in other measures such as voluntary surrender, orders for possession and exclusion orders, at least 100 people were removed or moved from properties.
Limerick City and County Council repossessed 13 properties on foot of formal notices, and currently has 15 exclusion orders granted by the district court under section 3 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997 barring them from particular housing estates within the city and county for up to three years.
A council spokesperson said: “These orders have proven to be particularly effective, with jail sentences being imposed for breaches.”
The council also co-operated with gardaí to use powers granted under Section 20 of the same 1997 Act to have unauthorised occupiers suspected of antisocial behaviour removed from properties in five cases.
However, complainants or neighbours of those alleged to engage in antisocial behaviour are just as likely to move. The figures show that at least 108 people requested or were granted a transfer to another property as a result of the antisocial behaviour of others.
Issues with alleged anti-social behaviour and tenancies are not limited to social housing. Latest figures from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), a statutory body which seeks resolution of disputes between tenants and landlords, among other responsibilities, said it received 279 complaints of antisocial behaviour last year, representing 6% of all contacts, and up from 163 notifications in 2015.
So far in 2017, the RTB has received another 96 complaints, representing 5% of complaints lodged with it.
An RTB spokesperson said it prioritised enforcement in cases where it has made an order, for example against a landlord for failing to prevent antisocial behaviour in a property, but which were not complied with.
“The positive position is that these types of cases have reduced in numbers over the years,” said the spokesperson. “The number of requests to enforce for cases of anti-social behaviour is in single digits. The RTB has not had to pursue legal enforcement as parties have complied with the order [due the threat of proceedings if they don’t].”
At least 2,616 social housing units were vacant nationwide as per the most recent data provided, although many of those were in the process of being re-let, or were between tenancies.
