‘The children keep asking, where are we going?’ – family-of-six forced out of Dublin home after 14 years

 • Yesterday 14:40

A Dublin family-of-six facing homelessness from tomorrow, says their children are watching them pack-up and asking “where are we going?”.

The family contacted South Dublin County Council two years ago when they received notice from their landlord that the property would be sold.

They requested the local authority to purchase their home of 14 years through the tenant-in-situ scheme.

The family, who wish to remain anonymous, are on the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS), a social housing support payment for those receiving a long-term rent supplement in privately rented housing.

“Our kids don’t know anything. They don’t know the situation and I never wanted them to,” said the mother.

“I want them to feel secure where they are living. They are looking at us packing boxes and asking us where we are going? And I can’t say.

“We have an autistic daughter and I myself have Crohn’s disease. The stress of the last two years has put me into a massive flair and I am waiting for surgery.

“I don’t even know where I am going to recuperate afterwards,” she added.

The family were contacted by the landlord in April 2021 informing them that the house would be sold.

“I rang South Dublin County Council immediately to let them know and asked if they had any interest in purchasing the house,” said the woman.

“They said no, that they weren’t in a position to do so, but they linked me in with a voluntary housing body and they were interested,” she said.

“Unfortunately, according to the landlord, the price was too low so the deal was off.”

In August that year, SDCC then expressed interest in purchasing the property, but the offer was again lower than the evaluation price and the landlord rejected it.

The family were given their official notice in August 2022 after both deals fell through.

Their eviction date was originally April 30, however, this has been extended a number of times as a temporary home that was to be provided by the council has not been ready.

“I’m banging my head off a brick wall. I told the council two years ago that the landlord was planning to sell,” the woman said.

“I was told not to worry that we would be housed closer to the time. They told us not to panic. Now, as of Saturday we are homeless.”

The family were told in April they would be housed in a 3-bed temporary house, which now won’t be available in time and has “no appliances, no furniture and concrete floors”.

“I got a call a couple of days ago to say that the electrics are not sorted, they haven’t even been started and the property won’t be ready now until the end of the month.

“We were asked by the SDCC if there was any family or friends we could stay with,” she said.

The family are planning to temporarily move in with the woman’s mother until alternative accommodation can be found. They are currently on the council’s transfer list.

“It’s going to be 11 people in a two-bed house,” she said. “I am physically and mentally drained.

“I’m shouting from the rooftops and nothing I say or do can get through to them [council].

“We are here 14 years, my husband is in full-time employment, we are good tenants and we’ve never been in trouble and we’ve always kept up to date on our rent.”

The woman said the Rental Accommodation Scheme should be “abolished”.

“We were promised that this situation would not happen and here we are,” she added.

A spokesperson for SDCC said it is the council’s policy “not to provide comment on individual cases”.