Council rent hikes will punish those who 'don’t have enough food on the table'
Social housing rent hikes hurt struggling families who “don’t have enough food on the table”.
That’s according to local council house residents who are speaking out, saying they are being targeted unfairly by Dublin City Council’s plans to shake up their social housing rent system for the first time in 30 years. Gayle Cullen from Oliver Bond House in the Liberties said any rental raises will only serve to push their community into poverty, exacerbate anti-social behaviour, and negatively affect children's chances at a better future.
“This will affect everybody in the community, it doesn’t matter if you’re working or not. Even if it’s only a small raise, it’s actually a lot when you add it up at the end of the year,” Ms Cullen said.
As mother of two whose 28-year-old and eight year old sons are forced to share a room together, Ms Cullen said the proposed raises feel particularly unfair considering the substandard conditions that many in her neighbourhood are living in. With damp and mould issues across the Oliver Bond flats, she said they are the last people who should be facing increases.
“If anything our rent should be halved until things are brought up to EU standards, they have the cheek to ask for more money when a lot of people have to get Credit Union loans just to pay for basic maintenance,” she said. “It’s very unfair that they are trying to take this out on tenants.”
Residents of the Oliver Bond flats promised a regeneration project that was supposed to improve housing and quality of life for those in the area as far back as 2001. But this has been continually delayed and proposed works have yet to commence.
This has led to a perception in the community that they are continually side-lined, and now to be faced with rent increases feels like one broken promise after another.
“We are conditioned to being put on hold. The government is talking about building so many houses but what about the people who are already housed?” Ms Cullen asked. “Everyone deserves a home and nobody should be homeless, but you also need to treat the people that have been living in homes for years right. I have five generations of my family paying rent.”
With some reports stating that social housing tenants could face increases of as much as 50%, Ms Cullen stated this will have a “domino effect” on the community, as kids will have less opportunities and be prone to anti-social behaviour. “The thing that nobody talks about is community trauma and there are things that can prevent that by helping children out of a bad situation, not throwing extra bills on top of families,” she said.
Ms Cullen spoke about parent’s desire to encourage their children to thrive and follow their interests but said that, for those who don’t drive, a rent increase often means choosing between bus fare for extra curricular activities for their kids or paying basic bills. “That affects that child’s chances in life, it truly affects everything,” she said.
“The less there is for people in communities the more they struggle, this is where you get anti-social behaviour and that leads to crime which leads to drugs,” she said. “If you invest in areas you can minimise that.”
These views were echoed by Sinn Fein Councillor Daithi Doolan who said his party will oppose any rent increases for council tenants and spoke out against the proposal for reform of the rental system. “During this whole process Sinn Fein has worked to minimise the impact on low income tenants,” he said.
“Families are really struggling with the cost of living crisis. People are being pushed to the pin of their collar trying to cover the cost of food, heating and fuel. The last thing working families need is a rent increase.
"Families in council housing are in overcrowded conditions, poorly insulated homes, requiring urgent upgrades. Demanding more rent is an insult. Families with grown children cannot be demanding more money from them to cover a rent increase while the same children are struggling to save for a mortgage or a deposit.”
In advance of the next general meeting of Dublin City Council on December 1, affected tenants are staging a protest outside City Hall to highlight how these changes will "put more pressure on already over burdened households.” Council tenant James O'Toole stated: “It's outrageous that the council would steal food from the mouths of the poorest children instead of demanding the government increase its funding for local authorities by taxing the billionaires and millionaires who can afford it.”
Basin Street flats resident Ken Kelly also voiced his opposition to any raises as father with a newborn daughter he said “it’s already a struggle” to pay for the basics. “As a low paid community worker, Council rent allows me to actually get by and now they want to increase the rents? It's a joke. Everyone I know is angry about this,” he said.
When contacted for comment on the proposed rent increases, Dublin City Council stated: "The current Dublin City Council Differential Rent Scheme is under review and further information will be available when the scheme is finalised. Any changes that result from this review would be communicated to all tenants suitably in advance of any proposed changes being implemented."
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