‘It is very much a political issue’: the housing crisis between homelessness and human rights.

The current Irish housing crisis led over 90.000 households, between 2019 and 2020, to contact Threshold, the association involved in providing advice and support to tenants in difficulties in Ireland. Along with CIB, the Citizen’s Information Board, it aims to advocate for safe housing and, in the words of its Policy Officer Ann-Marie O’Reilly, to allow “policy change to ensure everyone has access to a secure, affordable and good quality home”. A remarkable reports has been published the 13th of this October, underlining the criticalities of private renting faced by population between 2019 and 2020, with a focus on the improvements which ought to be achieved as a matter of urgency.

While requiring a strong action from political institutions, asking for a referendum for the recognition of safe housing as human right in the Irish Constitution, Threshold illustrates, in the report, numerous critical elements of tenancy: the abrupt termination of leases, the poor maintenance of the properties and the concrete lack of plans for new constructions are the ones faced the most by leaseholders. While discussing the weaknesses of the current housing field, it is remarkable how broad is the conception of “vulnerable” population when to it comes to the lack of a secure home: “almost every person […] who lives in the private sector becomes vulnerable as soon as that note of termination […] comes”, claims O’Reilly. As a consequence, in the reports it un underlined how short-term leases can affect families’ stabilities, inducing a precarious life. Despite the put in place of the “Eviction Ban”, disabled people, single parents and population with low income appear to be particularly afflicted by this, along with single individuals with stable income and foreign tenants.

Many resolutions have been proposed in the document, from a macro and a micro point of view. The political involvement in the improvement is undeniable: “it’s very much a political issue” states the Threshold’s PO, underlining the interest of Government as decision maker. The necessity to introduce Housing Right in the Constitution is crucial, pointing out the State’s role in the improvement of Rent Pressure Zone and in the incentivisation of housing construction. This should be accompanied by a more inclusive economical support, with the improvement of the HAP, and an accurate plan for rent arrears management. Additionally, adjustments are advisable from the private landlord’s outlooks, to whom is required more flexibility in the durations of lease, introducing long-term tenancies and more transparencies about short-term use of properties by platforms such as Airbnb. Nevertheless, the monitoring of private individuals towards their properties proves to be complicated, colliding with the right of the owner towards their private property. The same IPOA, the Irish Property Owner’s Association, claims that there is already discrimination towards private landlords and the taxation is not favourable enough to incentivise the change in the market
In spite of the difficulties that the proposes might encounter, the reports highlights problematics that have been developing and exacerbating over the last decade, with the increase of 80% of the cost of rent, and a sudden stop in building planning following the 2008 crisis. Several options have been provided by Threshold and CIB in the report and, despite O’Reilly herself admits that “it will take a long time”, a prompt action is recommended to improve the quality of life of the community in Ireland.