Northside councillors call for tougher action on anti-social behaviour in apartment blocks

Councillors from the North Central Area have said that more action is needed to tackle anti-social behaviour in apartment blocks.

Sinn Féin councillor Mícheál Mac Donncha has said that approved housing bodies “must take more responsibility.”

The Donaghmede councillor was speaking at the monthly meeting of Dublin City Council’s North Central Area Committee. 

The Sinn Féin councillor told the Committee that residents of a local apartment block on the Northside, with 93 units, had seen non-residents gain access to the hall, stairs and landings.

After gaining entry, drugs were consumed, with the users, in a drugged state, sleeping on the landings and using them as toilets.

“I saw the main door of the block lying open because the automatic closing mechanism was broken. There was access from the street. This and other entrances have been used by non-residents, intruders who cause huge stress and danger to residents,” Mac Donncha told the meeting.

“The broken door had been reported to the management company but left unrepaired for days”, he added.

After following up on the issue with the management company, he said that the response he received from the management company was “far from satisfactory.”

He warned that this issue was “not an isolated case,” and was being experienced by apartment block residents across the Northside.

While saying that management companies, approved housing bodies and Gardaí could be doing more to solve the issue, he said that fundamentally, legal reforms were required.

The North Central Area Committee, consisting of both government and opposition councillors, agreed to pass a motion which called for an “urgent reform” of housing property management.

Fine Gael councillor Supriya Singh said that “greater clarity and accountability” is needed around how serious complaints are investigated.

She said that the motion relates to a small number of serious cases and should not be seen as reflecting on council or social housing tenants generally.

“The overwhelming majority of Council tenants are responsible neighbours and valued members of their communities. This motion is about the small number of serious and persistent cases where behaviour can have a very significant impact on neighbours and the wider community,” the Donaghmede councillor said.

“We rightly raise policing and Garda visibility when criminal or anti-social behaviour occurs. But where that behaviour is associated with a Council tenancy, Dublin City Council also has responsibilities as a landlord,” the Fine Gael councillor stated.

Singh said that “residents need to know what happens when they make a serious complaint — how it is investigated, when tenancy warnings can be issued, what happens if the behaviour continues and what further enforcement options are available.”

“People also need a clear and confidential way of reporting tenancy-related anti-social behaviour and an understanding of the information required for the Council to take action.”

She said that the motion was about striking the right balance between tenants and enforcing the laws that already exist.

“Where Dublin City Council already has powers, I want to see those powers used effectively. Where genuine gaps exist in the legislation, those gaps need to be identified and raised with the government,” she said.

The motion said that residents have reported “numerous problems” including unauthorised access to apartment complexes by non-residents, anti-social behaviour and crime by such intruders and by a “small yet very disruptive minority” of residents. 

Residents have reported a “lack of response or inadequate response from management companies.”

The motion stated that “reform is necessary also in the system of vetting of tenants and in this regard consultation is required with local authorities, approved housing bodies and An Garda Síochána.”

“Issues which require urgent address include the requirement for security and for the on-site presence of security and management personnel, especially in larger apartment complexes,” it read.

The motion, which will be sent to Minister for Housing James Browne, is “based on our experience as public representatives of an area with some of the highest levels of new apartment developments in the country,” it stated.