South Dublin County Council members have accused the council’s Chief Executive of “subverting democracy” by choosing to increase rents without councillor input.
Starting from next week, South Dublin County Council management is planning to increase council rents for over 20,000 households.
Rents will increase from 10% of household income plus €3 currently to 12.5% of incomes, resulting in a 25% increase in rent for many households and some seeing an increase of over 50%.
Councillors from opposition parties have said that the Chief Executive has “ignored” a motion that was agreed upon by councillors in February, that required any differential rent review to be based on fairness and not revenue-raising, and to involve consultation with tenants and organisations with expertise in tackling poverty and inequality.
In response, a group of twelve councillors are bringing forward a special Section 140 resolution to a Council meeting on Thursday to prevent the planned rent increases.
Speaking after a press conference this morning in Buswells Hotel in Dublin 2, People Before Profit South Dublin County Councillor Kay Keane said “In February, before any changes to rents, I had a motion passed unanimously by a Council meeting stating:
That this council requests that any review of the differential rents scheme is based on fairness, not revenue-raising and must include consultation with tenants, tenants’ unions such as CATU and organisations with expertise in tackling poverty and inequality.”
Keane said, “council management ignored this motion and have not engaged in the consultations required by my motion. Yet the Executive has stated their intention to greatly increase revenue from rent increases for some of the poorest people in South Dublin. Many tenants don’t even know that their rent is about to be increased from July.”
“All this has been happening while I’m dealing with Council tenants who report that windows are falling out of their homes, they have problems with mould, there’s flooding and lack of proper drainage. And now their rent is about to go up by anywhere between 25% and 50% for homes in shocking conditions.”
Working families having rents increased unfairly, Carey says
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Speaking after the press conference, PBP councillor Jess Spear said, “it is completely unacceptable that South Dublin County Council management is subverting local democracy to take thousands of euros extra a year in rent from families that cannot afford to pay this.”
“When a group of 11 Councillors brought forward the Section 140 motion to stop the rent increases, Council management ruled that it was out of order. It was only when I threatened to take legal action that management relented and agreed to the meeting, which has been scheduled for Thursday afternoon.”
“However, in finally agreeing to hold a Council meeting to debate and vote on the special resolution, Council management stated that even if the motion is passed, it may not implement it,” Spear said.
“I find it alarming that Council management may attempt to block one of the few democratic mechanisms that Councillors have to change Council policy. If they do this, I will have no choice but to go to the High Court to seek an order forcing the Council management to fulfil its legal obligations,” she said.
“The meeting on Thursday is very important, and we are urging tenants to contact their local Councillors to seek their commitment to vote for our Section 140 motion so we can stop Council management’s rent increases.”
Sinn Féin councillors William Carey, Louise Dunne, Daniel Loftus, Róisin Mannion, and Niamh Whelna, Social Democrat councillors Eoin Ó Broin and Justin Sinnott, People Before Profit councillors Kay Keane, Gino Kenny and Jess Spear, and independent councillors Madeleine Johansson and Helen Farrell are the elected reps opposed to the proposed rent hikes.