Situation with friend and his apartment

zef

I have an older friend who I visit regularly and pick up groceries etc for as he has a few health concerns. He is not great on his feet due to an accident which has kept him off work for 3 years (worked all his life), and since then has been receiving the rent allowance and is waiting for a decision on disability
Today he told me he has been given notice and has to find somewhere else within a few weeks He lives in a decent sized 1 bedroom apt, and the rent is e500, I think the landlord knows he could get a couple in there and charge double.
Not feeling very optimistic, I checked daft.ie or any abode in Dublin that takes RA under 700e p.m (and that's way too high a threshold, i know). Nada, Nothing, no properties anywhere to suit a single person on RA.
His elderly mother only passed away a few weeks ago and now this.

I am wondering if there are any housing associations anyone could reccomend that maight help- i'm in the Fingal CoCo. area and they are inundated. Or any advice on helping a person in this situation? He is terrified of ending up in a hostel as seen in some of those 'undercover' documentaries on homeless in Dublin.

MouseTail

First step is to get him assessed for housing by the Council. He should be fairly high priority, but a housing trust or association cannot help without him being on the housing list.

Gatling

Also emergency accommodation is hard too come by for a single bloke ,as the previous poster said the various housing associations don't just take applicants ,they cherry pick who they want off the housing lists ,
Maybe a call to your local homeless unit or health board,
Not all hostels are as bad as tv3 made out ,
Some are supposedly ok

zef

He has been assessed by the Co.Co. and is on the housing list- A long way down. One of those little one bed council bungalows wold be ideal for him, as steps are a no go. But he'd be waiting.
Edit- will get him re-assessed if possible with this threat looming.

Gatling-We rang the homeless section - come in when you're homeless, they said. So what does one do with ones furniture, possessions etc (not valuable enough to sell) when one presents as homeless.
It galls me that this man had a normal life until an accident had him off work, now he is facing the street. Or hostels, which unless you've had experience of them, you don't know how bad they are.

Gatling

zef wrote: »

He has been assessed by the Co.Co. and is on the housing list- A long way down. One of those little one bed council bungalows wold be ideal for him, as steps are a no go. But he'd be waiting.
Edit- will get him re-assessed if possible with this threat looming.

Gatling-We rang the homeless section - come in when you're homeless, they said. So what does one do with ones furniture, possessions etc (not valuable enough to sell) when one presents as homeless.
It galls me that this man had a normal life until an accident had him off work, now he is facing the street. Or hostels, which unless you've had experience of them, you don't know how bad they are.

Has your friend no family at all ,it might be an idea to get a social worker involved ,
Stayed in the iveagh hostel for a while ( homeless twice before ) its not bad met a few lads who had low paid jobs but couldn't afford to rent living there ,
Belongings unless someone is willing to offer storage or another solution ,
A b&b might be another option

zef

I have been homeless and in hostels twice before in the early 90s, and found it a truly horrible exp. The worst thing was having no-where to go during the day, being asked to leave by 10am and having to be back by 8pm.

His Mum just died and there is a rift with his brother who couldn't take him in anyway as his house is crowded. I have 3 housecats to which he is allergic to, and I don't have a spare bedroom.

A social worker is an idea, I'll pass that on tommorrow, thanks for your reply.

ABajaninCork

If your friend has been paying the rent (albeit with RA) and has caused no problems, then the LL cannot put him out just like that. What reason was given for the notice -do you know?

How long has he been there? Does he have Part 4 rights?

I'd be getting on to Threshold for further advice. From what you've posted, it seems the LL is in the wrong.

No Pants

ABajaninCork wrote: »

If your friend has been paying the rent (albeit with RA) and has caused no problems, then the LL cannot put him out just like that. What reason was given for the notice -do you know?

Exactly what I was going to ask; when you say notice, what was it for?

Graces7

bless you for caring and helping.

Pinkmoon19

Would your friend consider a house share? It might be a solution to a cheaper rent?
Here is a link to house shares in Finglas http://www.daft.ie/searchsharing.daft?s%5Bcc_id%5D=c1&s%5Ba_id%5D%5B%5D=228&s%5Broute_id%5D=&s%5Ba_id_transport%5D=0&s%5Bstreet_name%5D=&s%5Btxt%5D=&s%5Bmnp%5D=&s%5Bmxp%5D=&s%5Broom_type%5D=either&s%5Bgender%5D=&s%5Bmove_in_date%5D=0&s%5Bavailable_for%5D=&s%5Bo_oc%5D=&s%5Boccupants%5D=&s%5Bdays_old%5D=&s%5Bagreed%5D=&more=&tab=&search=1&s%5Bsearch_type%5D=sharing&s%5Btransport%5D=&s%5Badvanced%5D=&s%5Bprice_per_room%5D=

jlm29

What age is your friend? Would he qualify for sheltered accommodation or something I wonder. He really needs to be seen by a social worker, who would be able to help him figure out his entitlements

foggy_lad

Could your friend move out of Dublin to a provincial town where rents will be much lower? The rent allowance will also be lower but the rents would be much more affordable.

runawaybishop

zef wrote: »

Today he told me he has been given notice and has to find somewhere else within a few weeks He lives in a decent sized 1 bedroom apt, and the rent is e500, I think the landlord knows he could get a couple in there and charge double.

How long has your friend been in the house? The landlord cant just end the tenancy because he feels like it, it must be done correctly and within the law. The landlord can review the rent only once a year and it must be fair and within market values. If your friend thinks the increase is not fair he can dispute it with the PTRB. If it is fair and he just cant afford it then the notice periods are as follows.

Length of tenancy Notice by landlord
Less than 6 months 4 weeks (28 days)
6 months to 1 year 5 weeks (35 days)
1 – 2 years 6 weeks (42 days)
2 – 3 years 8 weeks (56 days)
3 – 4 years 12 weeks (84 days)
4 years or more 16 weeks (112 days)

After 4 years you cycle back.

Mrs OBumble

Try ringing the housing associations anyway - Clúid and Respond are biggest ones. Sometimes they have difficult-to-let properties in some areas, for whatever reasons. While they do have to take their tenants from the council lists (which your friend is on anyway, so it's not an issue), they can sometimes help to make things happen a little more quickly if there happens to be a suitable vacancy at the time you ask. And their "cherry picking" actually means giving preference to people like your friend who have worked all their life, don't have criminal records, etc.

Get him to check with the council whether he ticked the "willing to consider voluntary housing" option - the latter is the technical name for housing assocations. And checking is a way of reminding them about him.

Also, has he got a letter from his GP or other specialist supporting his housing application? Being disabled actually helps, because it makes him eligible for houses paid for from specific elderly/disabled funding, which familieis cannot access.

He should also use his local social contacts (sports, church, clubs, GAA, whatever): ask people who he knows to help him by keeping an eye out for a suitable place. Also try VdP - again, they may know someone who knows someone.

Groundsource

runawaybishop wrote: »

notice periods are as follows.

Length of tenancy Notice by landlord
Less than 6 months 4 weeks (28 days)
6 months to 1 year 5 weeks (35 days)
1 – 2 years 6 weeks (42 days)
2 – 3 years 8 weeks (56 days)
3 – 4 years 12 weeks (84 days)
4 years or more 16 weeks (112 days)

After 4 years you cycle back.

Do you have a source for these notices? Believed a months notice was required in any case regardless of lenght of tenancy same as employment.

runawaybishop

Groundsource wrote: »

Do you have a source for these notices? Believed a months notice was required in any case regardless of lenght of tenancy same as employment.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/types_of_tenancy.html#l1f4da

padd b1975

What was the story with the workplace accident?

Did your friend look for compensation for the serious consequences it has had for him?

Is it too late for him to look into this now?

It's a pretty dire scenario for the poor guy all off the back of an accident which has stopped him from earning a living wage.

zef

Hi, just coming back to this now, thank you all for your ideas and input, I spoke to him at lenght last night about his options and intentions.
The landlord was up last week and said my friend, has 8 weeks (56 days) before vacating the property.
He has a couple of friends with transport, and a good few friends dotted around Ireland in Galway / Cavan etc, so has decided the best thing would be to look for a country rental where he could afford his own place.
So now, another question. I saw a post - can't find it now, where the op wanted to move to Carlow, IIRC, but the local council queried her application for housing/ RA because she was from Dublin.
Surely the govt should encourage persons wishing to live outside Dublin, considering the housing shortage here at the moment?

The reason he s being asked to leave is noise complaints - ever since the guy moved in 'upstairs' - read : mezzanine level overhead, he has had complaints about tv noise, the noise of 'people talking' etc. As a result there is bad feeling between these 2 tenants, which has escalated into arguments and your man upstairs pounding on his floor/ friends ceiling if there is a peep of noise To look at the house outside you'd think it was a bungalow, but it contains a first floor, 6 flats in all, and they sound like hells donkeys walking around upstairs.

As to other suggestions, social workers, assisted living etc, he is independent and wants to remain so as long as possible. At least accom outside Dublin is affordable, he could pay it out of his payment if he had to- you can rent a house for 300-400pm in some areas, in Dublin that is not an option, as a similar standard rented apt is now about 1k pm.

Graces7

zef wrote: »

Hi, just coming back to this now, thank you all for your ideas and input, I spoke to him at lenght last night about his options and intentions.
The landlord was up last week and said my friend, has 8 weeks (56 days) before vacating the property.
He has a couple of friends with transport, and a good few friends dotted around Ireland in Galway / Cavan etc, so has decided the best thing would be to look for a country rental where he could afford his own place.
So now, another question. I saw a post - can't find it now, where the op wanted to move to Carlow, IIRC, but the local council queried her application for housing/ RA because she was from Dublin.
Surely the govt should encourage persons wishing to live outside Dublin, considering the housing shortage here at the moment?

The reason he s being asked to leave is noise complaints - ever since the guy moved in 'upstairs' - read : mezzanine level overhead, he has had complaints about tv noise, the noise of 'people talking' etc. As a result there is bad feeling between these 2 tenants, which has escalated into arguments and your man upstairs pounding on his floor/ friends ceiling if there is a peep of noise To look at the house outside you'd think it was a bungalow, but it contains a first floor, 6 flats in all, and they sound like hells donkeys walking around upstairs.

As to other suggestions, social workers, assisted living etc, he is independent and wants to remain so as long as possible. At least accom outside Dublin is affordable, he could pay it out of his payment if he had to- you can rent a house for 300-400pm in some areas, in Dublin that is not an option, as a similar standard rented apt is now about 1k pm.

he will need to apply for ra when he is in his new house and have proof he has been renting privately 6 months. i have moved county threetimes in the lastfew years so know the process well.

some cwos are demanding you be on the housing list but the rule is either 6 months renting or being on the housing list.

he sounds, with your help, to be getting things together after the initial shock. grand so

Mrs OBumble

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Try ringing the housing associations anyway - Clúid and Respond are biggest ones. Sometimes they have difficult-to-let properties in some areas, for whatever reasons.

Stay well clear of Respond if you can. I'm currently living in one of there estates and they are by far the worst housing agency there is.

Rents are very high, if you have any maintenance issues you could be years waiting to have them addressed and even when they are the repair work isn't up to scratch a lot of the time, if you have any anti-social behaviour issues on their estates they don't want to help... they are just useless, all they are good at is collecting rents!

No Pants

zef wrote: »

The reason he s being asked to leave is noise complaints - ever since the guy moved in 'upstairs' - read : mezzanine level overhead, he has had complaints about tv noise, the noise of 'people talking' etc. As a result there is bad feeling between these 2 tenants, which has escalated into arguments and your man upstairs pounding on his floor/ friends ceiling if there is a peep of noise To look at the house outside you'd think it was a bungalow, but it contains a first floor, 6 flats in all, and they sound like hells donkeys walking around upstairs.

That sounds unavoidable and therefore not a good enough reason to evict anyone.

zef

His situation has improved, and the landlord withdrew the notice thankfully.
Without going into identifying detail, my friend has rented from this family for nearly 2 decades, plus acted as the handyman and rent collector to other tenants for years.
I believe they see his problem now, and are aware the man upstairs has severe mental health issues that make him over-react to noise.
So my friend stays put, I'm very happy about this. He is isolated already with his legs although he lives in a busy urban area. I think a forced move to Leitrim or wherever he could afford on illness benefit would be detrimental to his wellbeing and access to services- e.g his physiotherapy.