Tipperary families left ‘in limbo’ as housing delays force tenants to overhold
Councillors in Tipperary have expressed frustration over delays in tenants receiving keys for a new housing development, leaving some renters forced to overhold their current tenancies.
People who have been allocated a home in Coopers Gate in Cashel were expecting to be in their new homes by Christmas, but three months on, they are no nearer to moving in.
At the March meeting of the Tipperary-Cahir-Cashel Municipal District, Fine Gael councillor Declan Burgess said he was “disappointed” with the lack of progress on the Coopers Gate development, with a lack of communication or updates from the approved housing body (AHB) that’s responsible for the scheme.
"I am really, really disappointed with the Coopers Gate phase two, we did our allocation months and months ago, and the communication has been unacceptable from Respond,” Cllr Burgess said.
"These tenancies are lingering over people’s heads, they have been unable to get a tenancy agreement, despite being allocated a number of months ago. We have households that are on notices to quit who are extending their existing tenancies and these families are really, really worried about what’s going to happen.
"We have people who have boxed up their homes because they were expecting keys before Christmas and living out of a box, which is not great for families.
"These families are in limbo,” Cllr Burgess added.
Communication from both the housing developer and Respond, the approved housing body managing the scheme, has been “lacking,” the Fine Gael councillor said, adding that the lack of clarity cannot be allowed to continue.
Agreeing with Cllr Burgess, Sinn Féin councillor Annemarie Ryan said that she had been dealing with families who are also overholding in their current rental accommodation because they haveen’t been given the keys for their new home.
"I have one or two families that I have been representing that are overholding as well so that adds more pressure to everybody,” she said.
Fine Gael councillor Mary Hanna Hourigan also agreed, calling for the Respond AHB to be called into a meeting with the council to try to address the issues, while independent councillor Liam Browne said that people who reached out to Respond felt like they were being dismissed.
"It’s bad enough to get nothing off Respond, but now they’re actually getting smart answers off Respond, and they feel like they’re being completely dismissed, so they have no idea where they’re going or when they’re going,” Cllr Browne said.
Responding to the councillors, Gillian Barry from the council’s housing section said she echoed their frustrations.
“I share your frustrations. We have endeavoured to engage with the AHB but unfortunately, we haven’t had a response,” she said.
"Our director is now taking it on, and I’m sure we’ll be back to you very soon with a successful conclusion to this,” Ms Barry added.
Respond have been contacted for comment.