Louth council tenants facing ‘overwhelming’ rent arrears

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

The “overwhelming” debt faced by some council tenants in rent arrears should involve support from the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (M.A.B.S), Louth councillors heard at their recent monthly meeting.

Cllr. Kevin Meenan highlighted the increase in rent arrears, which was listed in the latest monthly management report at just over €4million.

He said it was important to acknowledge that staff working in the rent section had “probably one of the hardest jobs” as they are dealing with people who may be in arrears for a range of reasons.

"But looking at the amount of arrears we have, how much is that a result of not carrying out enough rent reviews?

He added that arrears can clearly be the result of someone who “just doesn’t pay.” But in some cases, tenants may not have supplied all of the correct information, "rightly or wrongly” said Cllr. Meenan, including changes to household income etc, which leads to a build up of arrears which they are unaware of.

"I am dealing with a lot of people who are in arrears, and I think more rent reviews would flag arrears earlier to tenants, before it accrues to a large amount.”

"People might suddenly find they are two years behind,” said Cllr. Meenan.

He said that he accepted more staff may be needed in the rental section in order to conduct more frequent reviews, but felt it was one solution to consider among the range of measures used to address rental arrears,

Cllr. Marianne Butler said the total amount of arrears “seems to be going up and up.”

She pointed out that there was a lot of work being done to get people into payment plans, including warning letters being sent out.

"But when people are getting these letters, especially when it is thousands and thousands of euro in arrears, there should be advice to reach out to M.A.B.S as well.”

She added: "Chances are there are other issues there as well, and it can be so overwhelming.”

Cllr. Butler said she recognised it was important to encourage people to pay back their arrears, by getting them into payment plans.

"But I think the help of other agencies like M.A.B.S could be a big help."

Ger Murphy, Director of Services (Housing) told the meeting that “unfortunately rent arrears had increased again over the last few months.”

He said it was a “tough job” for staff working in this section, but added that the team were working hard to assist people who are in arrears, and do encourage the engagement of services like M.A.B.S.

He assured the council it was a matter of priority for the housing section, and they would continue to report back on progress.