'This cannot be accepted any longer': Tenants neglected by city council landlord

A Sinn Féin survey of Cork City Council housing tenants found that 90% have or have had problems with maintenance issues on their homes.

ALMOST all respondents to a Sinn Féin survey of Cork City Council tenants, some 90%, reported that they were currently having, or have had over the past two years, issues with housing maintenance.

Some 87% of respondents said they had experienced maintenance issues with their council home, while half of those responding said their issues had got worse since they reported them.

The survey was conducted over three months by Sinn Féin in Cork, and participation was invited through a series of advertisements in media and on social media.

Out of a total of 668 responses to the survey, some 439 participants were Cork City Council tenants, and it is those 439 respondents who are the focus of the section of the survey quoted here.

Of those 439 respondents, 383, or 87%, said they had experienced maintenance issues, while 373, or 85%, said they had contacted Cork City Council about those maintenance issues, with 224, or 60% of that number, having made contact over 10 times.

Some 363 respondents, or 83%, said they were currently having problems with maintenance, while 30, or 7%, said they had had problems with maintenance in the past two years.

Some 347, or 79% of respondents, said they had never had preventative maintenance carried out in their homes without having to request it.

Of the 383 respondents who said they had experienced maintenance issues, half, or 190, said they had experienced issues with mould – with other problems including windows (49%), damp (42%), leaks (40%), bathrooms (36%), external doors (28%), heating (26%), roof (23%), kitchen (18%), fascia soffits (17.8%), internal doors (8%), and stairs (5%).

Some 205 respondents, or 54% of those who had experienced maintenance issues, said those issues had lasted longer than two years.

Some 134 respondents, or 36%, said the Council had responded to their complaint with an inspection and a promise to return and fix the problem, but no return visit was arranged.

Half of those surveyed who had reported maintenance issues, 187, felt their issue had got worse since first reported.

Of the over-all sample of 439 council tenants who responded to the Sinn Féin survey, some 308, or 70%, had lived in their home for 10 years or more.

Of the 439 respondents to the survey, some 406, or 95%, gave their address, with 19% of those giving their address living in Knocknaheeny, 13% in Mayfield, 9% in Fair Hill, 8% in Togher, 6% in the Glen, 5% in Farranree and 4% in Mahon. The remaining respondents who gave their addresses were from areas across the city.

Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, said the level of response the survey had received highlighted the impact maintenance issues were having on the lives of council tenants.

“What we can see clearly from these results is that Cork City Council are not fulfilling their responsibility to tenants and are leaving people to live for far too long with maintenance issues that should be resolved. This is a complete disgrace,” Mr Gould said.

“Almost 350 Council tenants told us that no preventative maintenance had been done on their properties despite many of these living in their homes for over 10 years.” The northside TD said that Fine Gael had been in Government and had underfunded local authorities and eroded their autonomy, abetted in this by Fianna Fáil through confidence and supply and into the current Government.

“This cannot be accepted any longer. The Government must now intervene with a significant block grant for maintenance,” Mr Gould said.

Donnchadh Ó’Laoghaire, Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central, said there were issues across the city with entire complexes and estates that had been neglected for decades.

“These homes need basic repairs and tenants are paying their rent every single month but their landlord, Cork City Council, is not doing their job,” said Mr O’Laoghaire.

“We will be presenting these results to the chief executive of Cork City Council as she must be aware of the difficulties faced by the council’s own tenants.” Councillor Mick Nugent said he and his fellow Sinn Féin councillors in Cork City Council would be pushing the council to include a significant maintenance allocation in its 2023 budget.

“We believe a budget is needed for urgent repairs and for preventative maintenance as so many minor issues become major because of a lack of repair,” Cllr Nugent said.

‘I WANT OUT’

“I want out of here more than anything but I cannot get a transfer”

Respondents to the Sinn Féin survey of Cork City Council tenants were asked how maintenance issues in their council home were affecting their daily lives. All replied anonymously.

One respondent wrote: “I am petrified of rats and I can hear them all year round in the attic and the cavity wall. We put poison down regularly to no avail. ... I want out of here more than anything but I cannot get a transfer,” they said.

Another said: “Looks like bathroom ceiling is going to fall down where they just put screws in to hold it up and all black damp in bathroom ceiling”.

One respondent said they were constantly worried about the rain getting in, and it had already damaged their belongings which had been in the attic. They said they could not use the bedroom, and needed to buy more furniture.

“I can’t afford it as I am on invalidity pension … a total upgrade is needed for my kitchen and bathroom as I don’t have any storage presses at all in my kitchen, it’s an absolute joke, shame on Cork City Council for not taking action under the house maintenance guidelines.”

One respondent said both of their children had special needs and the mould in their home was affecting them.

“I have paid for a private painter to come in [but] to no avail, the mould came straight back.”

One person wrote that they have a disability and sometimes have to fill a bucket to flush their leaking toilet, which they said left them “somewhat stressed”.

Another complained of “constant drafts in house … mice coming through on bathroom pipework that was left exposed … windows unable to lock or close … Hate living here.” One respondent said they could not have visitors to their house, as the damp in their home was affecting the health of the tenants living there.

“The mould and mildew is beyond wipeable now,” they said.

Cork City Council was asked for a comment.

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