30 January 2024
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
The Green Party in Cork has described how the tenant-in-situ scheme has allowed 144 families facing eviction to remain in tenancies in the city
The scheme allows private tenants on the social housing list who are facing eviction for reason of sale to convert to being tenants of Cork City Council. Cork City Council will purchase the property allowing the tenant to remain in place while the sale proceeds.
The scheme was expanded in April 2023 as a condition by the Green Party to lifting the eviction ban. So far, 58 tenant-in-situ sales have been completed out of 144 in progress or completed.
Of the 54 sales completed, these are made up of 14 single-occupancy rentals and 40 families. In all 144 cases, including those waiting for the sale to complete, the tenants have been prevented from being evicted while the sale proceeds.
Green Party councillor for Cork City North East, Oliver Moran, says the scheme is a win for tenants facing eviction, landlords looking to exit the market and Cork City Council who then become the landlord:
Green Party councillor for the Cork City North East ward Oliver Moran
“As everyone who’s ever been involved in the purchase of a house knows, property sales can take longer than expected. What the scheme means is that once a sale is agreed, the anxiousness can be removed for everyone. Tenants know they won’t be evicted and landlords know the sale will be completed.
“What’s striking about this scheme is the number of landlords who are interested in it. Many have a sense of relationship with their tenants. They want to exit the market but they don’t want to put their tenants in a position of being evicted from their home. The scheme means small landlords can leave the market through one simplified sale and the tenant can remain on as a council tenant.
“The scheme also gives new security to tenants on the social housing list. About half of families on the housing list are HAP tenants in the private rental sector. This scheme gives them new protections and a security of tenure that was never there before.”