Longford tenants express confusion over changes to council rent

A county councillor has advised council tenants “not to bury their heads in the sand” when it comes to rent reviews as they may be liable for arrears.

Cllr Kevin Hussey’s comments were made to the Longford Leader in response to concerns from readers that some council tenants had received letters about rent increases while others had received no notification of such.

Read more: Bank of Ireland installs new ATMs for Longford in Ballymahon as part of investment

Clarifying the matter, Cllr Hussey said, “it’s not that the rent is going up, it’s that it will be going on the basis of what’s coming into the household and the tenant’s ability to pay. There’s still a lot of people that don’t know these rent reviews are going on.
There needs to be more outreach so tenants are aware of what’s happening and what their rights are.”

Explaining why some tenants had received letters but others had not, the councillor added, “Unfortunately the department is understaffed. We have around 2,000 council tenants in Longford but only a couple of staff dealing with the rent reviews. It’s very important we get extra staff to keep up with reviews.”

A daunting aspect of the review process, the councillor said, is the number of forms involved.

“I personally have a problem with the paperwork in that there’s too much of it and that can be intimidating for people. People panic when they don’t know what to do. What they should not do however is put their head in the sand because then they will have to pay arrears. If anybody needs help with the forms, they’re more than welcome to speak with me. I get a lot of people coming in with review paperwork but we sit down, we get it together, and I send it off for them.”

In the event of a tenant’s circumstances changing, Cllr Hussey said, “if a tenant gets a new job or loses a job, they have to inform the council so their rent can be calculated on that basis. The rent review will take into account all expenses and outgoings, and if a tenant wants to apply for the rent- reduction- under-hardship- scheme, they will get a form where they can show exactly what they’re paying out in terms of fuel, kids clothes, and so on. Any bill the tenant has, they need to disclose it so the council will look at their rent on that basis.”

Read more: PICTURES | Inside the Longford property with bar and gym sold by CAB for €79,000

Cllr Hussey is keen for tenants to also remember they can apply to buy their property from Longford County Council under the tenant-purchase scheme as long as they have been living in the property for 10 years or more. Their rent, the councillor said, won’t go to waste because they will get a deal on the purchase price.

“All new leases are 10 years so the tenant can apply to buy under the tenant-purchase scheme and that’s what people should be looking at going forward. If anybody needs to talk it through, they can come to me or to Longford County Council and you will be pointed in the right direction.”