I first sought to raise this issue two weeks ago when an advertisement appeared in the property supplements of The Irish Times and Irish Independent newspapers. It advertised the sale of 29 properties at Enaville Avenue and St. Patrick's Avenue in Ballybough in Dublin's north inner city. I live in Ballybough and it is part of the constituency I represent. The advertisement stated that the opportunity presented by the sale of the 29 houses was a dream for first time buyers and builders.
I was astounded by this. I knew there were families living in most if not all these little houses. The advertisement did not mention this. So much for the ethics and standards of the estate agents, Douglas Newman Good, which placed the advertisements. In effect, a community was being advertised for sale without its knowledge and without any reference to the plight of the tenants or, indeed, the responsibility of the landlord to them. It was as if these families did not count. Many of them are one parent families on social welfare or in part-time low paid jobs.
The following Saturday, when prospective buyers went unwittingly to view the properties, they were horrified to find people living in them. Most of them promptly left. The landlord who orchestrated this was unmoved and determined to proceed with the public auction. I raised the matter with the Taoiseach in the House on 24 October, the day before the auction, as it was taking place in the Taoiseach's constituency. The tenants, meanwhile, had organised themselves and alerted the media and the local public representatives. As a result the auction was abandoned by the landlord, probably out of embarrassment, such was the strength of feeling and revulsion against his treatment of his tenants. However, the threat of eviction remains over the heads of these unfortunate people.
This is a classic, if extreme, example which highlights a problem that many people face in Dublin and throughout Ireland. There are an estimated 120,000 households in private rented accommodation in the State. Few of them have security of tenure. The commission on the private rented residential sector reported to the Minister of State, Deputy Molloy, last July. Its recommendations were limited and inadequate but they included giving tenants who have been in a property for six months an entitlement to a four year lease. I am unaware of any response so far from the Government.
The plight of the families in Ballybough, many of whom are tenants of eight to ten years, has drawn attention to a number of issues. First is the fact that tenants of less than 20 years standing appear to have no rights under the laws of the State. Second, landlords can behave as if they have no responsibilities to their tenants, the State or the taxpayers who subsidise many of the rents which, in turn, enrich the landlords. Third, any tenant of less than 20 years tenancy has no security of tenure and no reasonable notice is required to evict them, other than a contemptuous notice to quit followed by an immediate court summons. Fourth, landlords can apparently accumulate and buy and sell properties with the tenants in situ and without any reference to the rights of these people.
Fifth, following the abandoned option, the landlord simply announced his intention to increase rents, and it seems he can do this at will. If the health board does not cover the increased costs, he believes he can frighten and drive the tenants out. This is an increasing feature and mechanism in Dublin whereby landlords get rid of long-standing tenants and replace them with others who can afford higher rents. This is a widespread scandal and many elderly people have lost their homes in this way. There must be provision for rent restrictions, or a level imposed beyond which rents cannot be increased, based on the standard and location of the property.
I call on the Minister to address urgently all these issues so that what was attempted in Ballybough, and very nearly achieved but for the vigilance and the organisational ability of the tenants, cannot happen again. This is not the first time this has happened. We have seen the example of the Mespil outrage. Temple Buildings in Upper Dominick Street suffered a similar fate. So far Ballybough and Enaville Avenue have been spared this. I call on the Minister to introduce measures urgently to prevent this type of outrage ever being repeated.