Number of eviction notices issued spiked in Q2 of 2022

The Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien must hold an urgent meeting to discuss the significant increase in the number of Notices to Quit that were issued in the second quarter of 2022, Sinn Fein spokesperson on housing, Eoin Ó Broin TD has said.

The figures released to Ó Broin by the Residential Tenancies Board reveal that 1,781 Notices To Quit were served in the second quarter of 2022.

This is more than double the 841 Notices in the same period in 2021.

“These figures are very alarming and require urgent action,” Deputy Ó Broin said.

“The number of Notices To Quit has soared in recent months, which will see a dramatic escalation in evictions in the near future.

“In Quarter 1 of last year there were 352 eviction notices.

“That rose to 841 the following quarter as a result of Darragh O’Brien ending the Covid-19 ban on evictions in April last year.

“Since then the numbers have escalated exponentially, to 1,132 notices in Quarter 1 of this year and 1,781 notices in Quarter 2.”

“The Minister for Housing needs to convene an urgent meeting to address this clear crisis in the rental sector.

“This meeting must happen immediately and include the Residential Tenancies Board, tenants and landlords representative organisations and opposition housing spokespersons.

“We urgently need a crisis intervention plan to slow down the disorderly exit of private landlords exiting the rental market.”

John Mark McCafferty, CEO of housing charity Threshold said the figure prove that the Government needs to be more focused on finding solutions to the housing crisis.

“The private rented sector is facing an onslaught of evictions,” he said.

“Behind the statistics are individuals and families entering homelessness and losing their homes.

“It is imperative that the government moves quickly to formulate a specific, targeted strategy for evictions to help keep people in their homes and ensures some level of security around this.

“This strategy must focus on how small landlords can be incentivised to remain in the sector.

“There have been widespread calls for reform of the taxation of rental income.

“If this is what is needed to keep them active in the sector, then the Government must introduce and expedite these changes.

“However, it is imperative that any reform of the tax burden on landlords is strictly linked to increased security of tenure for private renters, including ten-year lease agreements.”

A landlord is required to give a notice period to the RTB and to their tenant when they want to end a tenancy, ranging from 90 days if the tenant has lived there for less than six months, to 32 weeks if the tenant has lived there for eight years.

The figures did not include the reasons given by landlords for serving Notices to Quit.