Questions raised over 3pc social housing rent hike in Galway city
Galway city councillors have questioned a recent 3pc increase in social housing rents approved by council executives last month.
The rise, which is based on tenants’ income, came under scrutiny at the October Galway City Council meeting.
Councillor Shane Forde asked Director of Finance Helen Kilroy whether residents in the city’s social housing scheme had been notified of the rent increase and if current collection figures were in line with previous years.
Ms Kilroy said rent collection had risen by 2pc year-on-year, remaining consistent with previous trends.
She noted that one of the biggest challenges in managing communications with social housing tenants is the small size of the rent collection team, which currently handles more than 3,000 accounts.
Plans are in place to add another rent collector to the team of two, a move Ms Kilroy said would “increase operational efficiency,” making the process clearer and smoother for tenants.
The meeting also heard that four accounts are currently at various stages of legal proceedings for repossession due to ongoing rent arrears.
Cllr Forde further inquired about business and larger accounts that pay rent periodically in lump sums. Ms Kilroy said this was normal practice and added that a payment incentive scheme may be introduced in the 2026 budget to encourage earlier payments to the council.