One of the organizations helping people under threat of eviction has expressed concern that it does not have the resources to deal with the numbers that might be contacted following a recommendation in the Dรกil by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Eilis Barry, chief executive of FLAC, the free legal advice service, told RTร Radio's Morning Ireland that it was not the state body that dealt with legal aid.
[ย Eviction ban Q&A: What can you do if you get a termination notice?ย ]
โWe are a small NGO that operates a telephone information line and telephone counseling clinics, and we take a small number of cases,โ he said.
Ms Barry noted that the Taoiseach had said that tenants could contact FLAC for advice on the best options available to them. She was concerned that, as a result of Mr. Varadkar's comments, people would have false hopes that if they went to the District Court, they would be able to delay their eviction on humanitarian grounds.
โFirst of all, the court has to apply the law, and the law is very clear. There are no good options. If a tenant receives a valid termination notice from the landlord, there aren't many options or good options available to them,โ he said. Ms. Barry said that most tenants who come to FLAC have valid eviction notices that are not open to challenge.
โThe Residential Leasing Board does not have any discretion. Neither it nor the Court can look behind a valid dismissal notice and decide not to evict or not make the determination or order based on humanitarian reasons such as illness or disability or the age of the children or the age of the person, or the fact that the people will be left homeless.
"The legislation provides that the District Court must enforce the determination of the Residential Leasing Board, except in a very limited set of circumstances."
Just 29 rental properties were available within the confines of the Housing Assistance Payment (Hap) scheme in March, according to research published on Thursday.
Simon Communities of Ireland said it now means the private rental market is no longer an option for those receiving support to get out of homelessness.
A spokesman for the charity said it was "beyond disappointing" that the eviction moratorium was lifted before they had been given a chance for the promising measures to take effect.
Judges may be reluctant to evict, but they have no discretion under the Residential Leases Act, said FLAC's Ms. Barry. โIf they did, bodies like FLAC, bodies like Threshold would be telling tenants what they should be doing and what cases they should be filing.โ
While FLAC had not seen a significant increase in calls in the past month, its directory assistance service had been "completely overwhelmed" with inquiries since the pandemic, mostly related to family law and employment law. โOnly one in three callers get through to a member of staff, which is why alarm bells rang when the Taoiseach was advising people to contact FLAC.
"I think it's concerning that one of the mitigation measures that the government hasn't introduced is going to agencies like Threshold and FLAC and Mercy Law Center to be able to provide legal assistance to tenants."
Ms Barry also said that FLAC would be reluctant to advise tenants to "over-withhold" their rent. โIf they over-withhold and the landlord goes to District Court and gets an order for costs against them, that will have an impact on the tenant in the short term. And in the long run, it's going to affect his credit rating, it's going to affect his ability to get a new lease. Therefore, it is not convenient for the tenant to be issued an order for costs.
FLAC was a small NGO, he said. The budget of the Legal Assistance Board, which is a State agency, was 40 times the budget of FLAC. โWe desperately need resources, particularly for our phone information.โ
