Mr. John-Mark McCafferty:

We would like to sincerely thank the committee for inviting us to speak to it today. I am joined by Ms Ann-Marie O’Reilly, Threshold’s national advocacy manager. Threshold is a national charity which provides a tenancy protection service focusing on advice and homeless prevention. Our specialism is the private rental sector and the Residential Tenancies Acts. Threshold has been supporting renters since 1978, and approximately 20,000 private renters and their families across the State avail of Threshold’s assistance each year.

Since 2014, when we began to see significant increases in rent and a similar rise in the number of people entering homelessness from within the private rental sector, Threshold has been at the forefront in keeping people in their homes or ensuring they have the advice they need regarding their tenancy. In this regard, we greatly appreciate the support of our statutory funders, including the DRHE, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and other local authorities, as well as the HSE.

Today, I will set out briefly the trends we are seeing on the ground, the challenges faced in preventing homelessness, and possible solutions to reducing and ending homelessness. Regarding trends, since 2022, we have seen an increase in the number of people who are at risk of homelessness, who are forced to into hidden homelessness or who are overholding, as well as an increase in the amount of time we spend working with clients. To place this in context, in the first quarter of 2022, we worked with 5,360 households who were at risk of homelessness. In the first quarter of this year we worked with 6,001 who were at risk. That is an increase of about 12%. We identified 475 of our clients who were overholding in the first quarter of this year compared with 303 in the first quarter of last year, which is a significant increase of 57%.

We have also seen an increase in the number of people experiencing hidden homelessness. In the first quarter of this year, 68 households were force to couch-surf or sofa-surf, staying with family and friends in what they hope is a temporary set-up while searching for a new home. There were 58 households in this situation in the first quarter of last year, but in the same quarter in 2020 there were just five. Obviously there were some extenuating circumstances in 2020. In the first quarter of this year, 104 households we worked with entered homelessness. The figure for the same period last year was 98, which is similar.

In terms of challenges, these few headline figures point to how it is becoming more difficult to prevent people from losing their home and for people to find a new home. This is primarily due to the large increase in the number of landlords choosing to sell their rental property. Last year, for example, 83% of our clients who entered homelessness had received a notice of termination from their landlord. This is compounded by the lack of alternative housing options.

We see that families are more likely to enter homelessness than other household types, with one-parent families at significantly greater risk, as are those receiving a social welfare payment and reliant on HAP. These households often need additional support and guidance to ensure homelessness is prevented, including representation at the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, which we provide. We also saw a high proportion of our single clients enter homelessness last year. This may point to the decreasing availability of housing options. It could be argued that, previously, single people were able to access housing that others could not due to fewer restrictions regarding location, fewer considerations regarding childcare and schools, greater mobility and less space requirements than families.

With regard to solutions, it will take a range and mix of solutions over the short, medium and long term to end and resolve homelessness. The Government has taken significant measures in recent months, but the situation generally has deteriorated in a few short years. We are seeing a recent sustained increase in housing provision, but we are also witnessing the fallout from historic undersupply since the 1980s, the overreliance on the private rental sector to provide housing, and a lack of planning to ensure the sector could provide long-term homes for people across their life cycle, especially people who are ageing.

We commend the Government’s efforts in respect of the tenant in situand cost-rental tenant in situschemes and can see these having a positive impact for hundreds of households around the country. The additional 1,300 permitted local authority acquisitions to support the scheme is significant. However, Threshold has been contacted by more than 1,200 private renters with a valid notice of termination so far this year. At present, we are assisting over 2,500 households who have a valid notice of termination. We would need far more than the 1,300 units planned under this scheme to be purchased. We recommend that both these tenant in situprogrammes become central features of housing delivery and part of a long-term shift away from reliance on the private rental sector toward a more sustainable housing model.

The availability of the first home scheme to renters is positive. It is, however, too early to determine the impact this will have, particularly as we await the accompanying legislation. We recognise the time required to deliver new housing and understand there are growing numbers in the pipeline.

That is why it is necessary to focus on the housing that can be provided in the short term to medium term. That means both central and local government need to become more ambitious and creative in the delivery of housing. It will require reform in terms of how local authorities do their housing. We understand the Government may be considering measures to retain landlords in the sector such as reduced tax on rental income. If this is undertaken, we stress the absolute need to tie this reduction to increased security of tenure for tenants. A blanket reduction in tax without any change in behaviour will not guarantee against landlords leaving the sector or ensure increased security of tenure but will come at great expense to the State. We thank you for your time and are happy to answer any questions the committee may have.