Short supply of rented accommodation with great demand sees many tenants living in poor conditions.
The demand for flats far exceeds the supply available to the rental sector in Dublin and Cork. Many private landlords are renting out substandard accommodation.
Two factors are tipping the scales against those looking for somewhere to rent. The large numbers of school-leavers in the cities and the growing backlog of unhoused newlyweds.
There are not enough flats available so,
Private supply has been overtaken by public need.
Private landlords find themselves on top of a seller's market so tenants have no option but to take whatever accommodation is available.
The Dublin 6 postal district, including Ranelagh, Rathgar and Rathmines, contains some of the city's prime flatland areas. Many of the flats are in buildings originally built for the Edwardian middle classes.
A hotchpotch of converted outhouses a maze of partitioned rooms.
In one building, the end of a landing has been converted into a dwelling. This is rented out for £8 per week, it can’t even be called a room.
In Cork city the situation is no better. A rental property on Leitrim Street, divided into five flats, houses 20 people. The building’s sole bathroom is used by 17 people. The landlord’s promise to replace the shower never materialised and the families have been without a shower for seven months.
In protest, the tenants went on rent strike for six months and an eviction notice was served. One tenant thinks they are being evicted for requesting work to be done on the property.
Raising children in slum like conditions is far from ideal, but families have extremely difficult to find private landlords willing to house them, regardless of how much rent they are willing to pay.
Before they are put out on the street, Cork Corporation houses the four families. Officials say the corporation byelaws are being broken, but they are powerless to do anything about it. The property at 5 Lady’s Well Place is in line for demolition, but before this happens, it could be let again.
This episode of 'Frontline' was broadcast on 7 March 1980. The reporter is Joe Little.
