New figures from Galway City Council show there are almost 4,900 households on the waiting list for local authority housing.
The most recent quarterly report from Galway City Council shows an increase in households waiting for local authority housing. Figures reveal there are 483 more on the list than in April of last year.
The majority – approximately 80% – of households on the waiting list are awaiting small scale one or two bed houses.
Galway city council currently has 485 properties under RAS (Rental Accommodation Scheme) and 139 in Long Term Leasing.
Under the RAS (Rental Accommodation Scheme), the council draws up contracts with landlords to provide housing for people with long term housing needs (generally speaking, those availing of Rent Supplement for more than 18 months are considered for RAS). The local authority pays the full rent directly to the landlord on behalf of the tenant and tenants pay rent direct to City Council.
The amount payable is determined by the Council’s Differential Rent Scheme – a rent assessment procedure designed so that weekly rent charged on a property is based on the person’s ability to pay.
But in the past 12 months, 50 landlords have withdrawn from the RAS scheme – thus decreasing the number of properties available to tackle the escalating housing crisis.
Galway City Council cites market forces from the private rental sector as the likely reason for this dropout rate.
Despite the fact that landlords cannot just break a contract, a problem has emerged nationally whereby proprietors escape the contract by maintaining they are selling the property or are making it available for the use of a family member.
In reality, it is believed landlords are opting out of scheme for financial reasons. Under RAS, property owners can expect an approximate €800 per month for a 3-bed house in Galway, whereas that same property could make in excess of €1,000 in private rented accommodation.
Former Labour Party Councillor Nuala Nolan said: “I have heard where a landlord terminated a contract saying his daughter needed the house… next thing he had a gang of students living in it.”
One homeless man and his wife contacted the Galway City Tribune last week to share their story of desperation. They have been without a home since March 2015.
The couple say they were forced to leave their accommodation in Salthill last year after their landlord “had troubles with the bank”; they insist they had a good rapport with their former landlord who agreed to reinstate them as tenants once she had “sorted everything out”.
Unfortunately for the couple, the accommodation they hoped to return to was irreparably damaged by flood water and deemed uninhabitable.
The man and his wife have fluctuated between staying with friends – sleeping on couches – and sleeping in his car. He reveals the feeling of unease at waking up in someone else’s home while children are running around getting ready for school. “It’s embarrassing” he says.
The husband asserts he is unable to work due to mental illness, and confides that he suffers from severe anxiety and depression. As a result, he is wholly dependent on disability welfare. His wife is also unemployed.
COPE Galway and City Council have attempted to assist them in finding a temporary settlement solution. However, he has declined accommodation offered by COPE Galway at Fairgreen Hostel claiming his condition prohibits him from sharing with other people.
“I have anxiety and depression,” he explains. These problems – which result in an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations – have prevented him from seeking temporary solution to his problems. “I would rather sleep in my car than share with people – I can’t,” he insists.
“I don’t know where we’re staying tonight,” he confesses, adding that this has been an everyday uncertainty for the best part of a year. “I’ve nowhere to go” he added.
Galway City Council has enlisted the couple for NABCO, a social rented housing co-op which provides housing to people recruited from Local Authority waiting lists.
In the meantime, however, they remain homeless.
And with less properties becoming available for rent, their dilemma shows little sign of abating.
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