Social Affairs

‘Our landlord came to us with an almost 70% increase’

Tenants share stories of overcrowding and huge rent hikes as the housing crisis deepens

Paula Nevado: “We don’t want to spend half our salary on rent”

Simon Carswell
Fiachradh McDermott
Sat Aug 26 2017 - 01:00

The rental crisis has forced one tenant to move into overcrowded accommodation and others out of their homes because they cannot afford landlord demands for rent increases of up to 70 per cent.

As rents surge to record levels amid the lowest-ever supply of rented accommodation available on the market, two more renters – one in Dublin and the other in Limerick – shared their stories with The Irish Times in their own words.

PAULA NEVADO (36) – Dublin

“In the first house I found, I lived with 20 people”

I moved from Cavan town to Dublin last February, and I found several difficulties and issues when I moved here. It was really difficult to find a place, and I’ve changed house three times since then.

In the first house I found, I lived with 20 people. I paid €550 a month, plus bills, for a single room. The kitchen was closed and there were seven extra beds put in it. The owner was perfectly aware of the overcrowding situation but she did not care.

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It’s incredible, because most of the people were not involved, or they didn’t want to clean. It was really stressful to try and get people living as a community. Everyone was looking out for themselves and they didn’t care about others. It was really messy.

The house was huge. I was on my own, but one room had seven beds. Another had four, and another one had three. Added to this, there were two double rooms.

We were sharing a bathroom. Imagine.

After this, I moved to a new apartment. It took me a month to find a place. I shared a room with another person, but after a month we were told the owner was selling the house. I was only three months in Dublin and I had to move again. Also, the landlord was painting and repairing everything while we were still inside, so it was really messy.

Right now I’m in a double room with my partner, in a lovely place sharing with the owner for €650 a month, including bills. My partner and I are looking for a place of our own as we are getting married in early September, but it is impossible. We want to rent a studio, but we won’t find something for less than €1,500. We don’t want to spend half our salary on rent.

When I was in Spain, I was living in my own flat. However, I was quite happy in Cavan, and prices in relation to salaries were good enough. I would recommend people go to other places in Ireland.

DEIRDRE (37) – Limerick

“Our landlord came to us with an almost 70 per cent increase”

The main reason for moving is the rent. Our two-year rent lease was up in August, and our landlord came to us with an almost 70 per cent increase.

My partner and I immediately had to leave. It just wouldn’t be affordable for us. We couldn’t guarantee that we would still be able to pay it, and pay it into the future. The increase was going to make it exceptionally impossible.

When we moved into this house in October 2013, the rent was €650. In August 2015 it was increased to €750. This year, in August, our landlord came to us with an increase of 66.6 per cent, bringing the total to €1,250. This means in less than four years our rent increased by 92 per cent.

Considering houses in our estate are selling for almost €175,000, the mortgage would be cheaper than an increase in rent. But, we won’t get approved for our mortgage because we don’t have permanent jobs.

It’s incredibly annoying. The more you pay in rent, the more you can’t put away and the harder it is to buy a house.

Limerick city is not a rental pressure zone, and therefore rents can increase without limit. I contacted TDs throughout the year telling them of the issue here, and provided examples of properties that were increasing by around the 7 per cent needed to qualify as a rental pressure zone, but nothing was done.

When we choose to move, we wanted somewhere close as my partner works in Limerick. The house we picked is 34km away, but it’s the only place we could get at a reasonable price of €750 a month.

I feel lucky that we can move somewhere we can pay rent of a reasonable level. I can’t imagine what we’d do if we were in Dublin.

I know it’s not the landlord’s responsibility to ensure I don’t lose my friends, and I can understand wanting to make a profit, but there’s a social responsibility there, too. The shock of someone coming to your door saying your rent is going to increase by 70 per cent is awful. There’s no loyalty to us as tenants; it’s loyalty to a profit.

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