Rental crisis: 4,329 notices to quit served in final quarter of 2022

More than 4,300 notices to quit were served to tenants in the final quarter of last year, according to new figures from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

The latest data come as the Government faces significant criticism following its decision to end the moratorium on evictions last weekend, which housing and homeless campaigners have said will lead to an increase in homelessness.

On Monday, the RTB said it received 4,329 notices to quit between the start of October and the end of December 2022, which is around 350 per cent higher than the 958 notices that were issued during the same period in 2021.

However, new legislation came into effect in July 2022 requiring landlords to send a copy of all notices to the RTB on the same day the notice is served on the tenant.

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Prior to this, where a landlord ended a tenancy that lasted more than six months, a copy of the notice was required to be sent to the RTB within 28 days of tenancy termination, which could have an impact on the figures for the second half of the year.

In total, there were 11,868 termination notices issued by landlords in 2022, significantly higher than the 3,033 issued in 2021.

According to the data published on Monday, some 2,513 notices of termination were issued to tenants in the last quarter of 2022 because the landlord intends to sell the property, representing 58 per cent of the total.

Some 16 per cent of notices were issued because the landlord or a family member intended to move into the property, while a further 16 per cent was because of a breach of tenant obligations.

Some 43 per cent of terminations, or 1,871, were issued to tenants in Dublin, with notices to quit being served in every county.

Wayne Stanley, executive director of the Simon Communities of Ireland, said the latest figures are “very concerning”.

“Of particular concern is the high number of landlords reporting that they are selling up, with those homes most likely leaving the private rental system,” he said.

[ Have your say: Have you been issued with a notice to quit since lifting of eviction ban? ]

“The Simon Communities across Ireland are particularly concerned that this will see homelessness grow in the coming weeks and months even beyond the current shocking levels.”

Mr Stanley said this calls into question on the decision to lift the moratorium on no fault evictions, stating that “pulling away the safety net... is difficult to justify”.

Sinn Féin’s housing spokesman Eoin Ó Bróin said while a “small number” of people affected by these notices will secure alternative rental accommodation, “most will not”.

“The result will be an increase in hidden homelessness as people move in with family and friends and an increase in the number of single people and families in emergency accommodation,” he said.

“Local Authorities are already at breaking point. Our emergency accommodation system will simply not be able to cope with any significant increase in homeless presentations. Many people will be forced to overhold and in some cases to sleep rough.”

The Government has faced increasing criticism in recent weeks after it decided not to extend the ban on so-called ‘no-fault’ evictions beyond March 31st, which it put in place on October 30th last due to a severe shortage of accommodation as winter approached.

[ Claims that Taoiseach overruled Minister for Housing on extending eviction ban strongly denied ]

Housing and homelessness campaigners and Opposition politicians have heavily criticised the Government’s decision not to extend the ban, but the Coalition has argued that continuing with the moratorium would have resulted in more rental properties becoming unavailable.

The Government said measures will be put in place to help those facing homelessness, including ramping up the tenant in situ scheme, under which local authorities buy homes offered by landlords who are selling and where their tenant is in receipt of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), or the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).

There was a slight fall – 12 – in the number of people who were homeless last month to a total of 11,742, a reduction which charities attributed to the moratorium.

However, the figures, published by the Department of Housing on Friday, showed a new high in the number of homeless, single adults of which there were 5,736 – the biggest number since current records began in 2014.