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Affordable housing and renting

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  • 02-12-2008 7:50pm
    #1
    Redpunto
    Registered Users Posts: 2,024 ✭✭✭


    Found out just by luck that someone in our estate (all houses being affordable housing) is trying to fully rent the house. What would you do?

    I want to report them to Fingal but dont even know if they'll do anything, would it be better to go to the just newly formed management company, shoudl i go to fingal house sales?

    Thanks a mil


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    #2
    Dandelion6
    Registered Users Posts: 1,405 ✭✭✭Dandelion6


    I doubt the management company will care. It's the council's affordable housing unit you should go to.


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    #3
    John Mason
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 10,661 ✭✭✭✭John Mason


    TBH - i doubt anyone will care.

    why does it bother you so much ?

    are you aware of the circumstances of why this person need to rent out their house?


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    #4
    wyndham
    Registered Users Posts: 2,284 ✭✭✭wyndham


    Redpunto wrote: »
    Found out just by luck that someone in our estate (all houses being affordable housing) is trying to fully rent the house. What would you do?


    I would mind my own business. There may come a day when you want to rent out your own house. What could you possibly gain by reporting them?
    I see no upside for you, only a downside.


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    #5
    Redpunto
    Registered Users Posts: 2,024 ✭✭✭Redpunto


    pink fluffy bunny wrote: »
    TBH - i doubt anyone will care.

    why does it bother you so much ?

    are you aware of the circumstances of why this person need to rent out their house?

    Becuase its against the terms and conditions of buying an affordable house and its the whole point of afforable housing, for the person who bought it to be able to buy it at an "afforable" price and to reside in the house, not to make money off it.

    Its not against the sale to rent out a room but its has to be your main residence, this fella is trying to rent out the whole house.

    If he was in need of money he could just rent out a room.


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    #6
    jdivision
    Registered Users Posts: 4,260 ✭✭✭jdivision


    Report him or her anonymously. Somebody else missed out so that person could buy the house. What they're doing is illegal. The councils have taken a number of legal actions against people who took affordable housing and rented it out. In one case the guy was getting more rent than the mortgage. He had to move in and the council dropped the case.


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    #7
    Nureyev
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7 ✭Nureyev


    I own an affordable apartment but I feel my circumstances may change in the next few years and I may have to leave the area. I presume the council will force me to sell the apartment even at a loss if I can no longer reside there fully. I may be in a situation where I will need to keep one room in the apartment to stay there once or twice a week but my main residence would be elsewhere. It will be a bit of a dilemma. I certainly would not rent out the whole apartment but am currently renting out one room.


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    #8
    Emerald Lass
    Closed Accounts Posts: 439 ✭✭Emerald Lass


    Redpunto wrote: »
    the whole point of afforable housing, for the person who bought it to be able to buy it at an "afforable" price and to reside in the house, not to make money off it.

    you do not necessarily know that he is making money out of it, unless his mortgage is very low, he will probably not be 'making' a lot of money after he pays the mortgage. Espeically if he is above board and paying taxes etc.

    Secondly you do not know that he has not bought out the house from Fingal and paid back the clawback. If he has done this then it is his house to do what he wants with.

    And as another poster mentioned you do not know the circumsances surrounding why he is renting - maybe he has to, and renting out one room will not cover his mortgage.

    If you feel the need to report him, by all means, but shouldn't you also report the tenants who rent from the local authority who claim to live alone but who have their childrens father living there while they pay €18 per week? And I bet you don't even know half of them that are doing it! In Fingal all Affordable housing estates have a percentage of the houses maintained by the council to rent out.

    To be honest, a friend of mine works in Fingal, and unless someone is doing something really antisocial they do little. They are more concerend with getting their mortgage each month, not going through the process of evicting him and a possible tenant. In this climate they are not keen to have to sell off a house when the mortgage is being paid. But if you are determined to report him, doing it anonymously will do no good as they will just ignore it - you will have to stand and be counted and hassle them do do something about it.

    also, jus FYI by buying an affordable house there is a clause in it that it is social housing, therefore the government/council cannot evict someone and effectively make them homeless. This being the case if Fingal did pursue this man and evict him they would have to provide housing for his tenant and also for him until such time that they can afford to get their own private dwelling. If Fingal do anything the most it will be is to write him a letter - which he can ignore. Alternatively, if his tenant is getting a good deal on the rent he might get tenant to say he stays there 2 nights a week.

    If I were you I would worry about things much more important to you personally and not stress yourself out by going through the rigmarole of hassling Fingal who will do nothing anyway!


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    #9
    murphym7
    Registered Users Posts: 2,035 ✭✭✭murphym7


    jdivision wrote: »
    Report him or her anonymously. Somebody else missed out so that person could buy the house. What they're doing is illegal. QUOTE]

    Could not agree more, someone else missed out on that house. I would report in a flash. People should be held accountable.


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    #10
    artyeva
    Registered Users Posts: 2,137 ✭✭✭artyeva


    report them - for every affordable house allocated there are tons of people still on the waiting list - why should they have been denied the chance on this house?

    just my opinion though. but yeah - I wouldn't give my name when I reported him...


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    #11
    Emerald Lass
    Closed Accounts Posts: 439 ✭✭Emerald Lass


    if you don't give your name then I can assure you that nothing will be done by Fingal.


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    #12
    DJDC
    Closed Accounts Posts: 365 ✭✭DJDC


    Take a stand, report the scrounger. He was given the house at a discount to the market price on the premise that he could not supplement his mortgage by taking money off those less fortunate to be given a cheap house by the state. This scheme is a joke but it will become even more of a joke if people start renting out their AH properties, thereby taking taking direct advantage of me and you, the taxpayer.


    Emerald Lass, you sound like someone who has something to fear. I have no doubt Final Co Co are as incompentent as you believe, but to actively discourage the OP to report an illegal act is downright outrageous.


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    #13
    Emerald Lass
    Closed Accounts Posts: 439 ✭✭Emerald Lass


    DJDC wrote: »
    Emerald Lass, you sound like someone who has something to fear. I have no doubt Final Co Co are as incompentent as you believe, but to actively discourage the OP to report an illegal act is downright outrageous.

    for one I have nothing to fear as I bought my house out from the council and paid my clawback 2 years ago - I now rent it out, legally, fair and square.

    secondly I didn't say don't report, I just pointed out that it is not necessarily straight forward that he is being dishonest - there are a few possibilities other than that he is - to use your word - a 'scrounger'. In fact I told her that if she wants to report then by all means to do it, but I was simply pointing out the realities - that Fingal will do feck all unless she pursues it like a dog with a bone and anonymous tip offs are by and large ignored as eviction proceedings are complicated and they would rather just get their mortgage regularly. This I have been told by a good friend who works for Fingal and also know from personal experience.

    10 mths ago I started to rent out my house. I got a call from Fingal about 3 months into the lease, saying they had had a report my house was rented out contravening my AH agreement - I had in fact bought out my house 1 yr previously and paid the clawback. When I told them they checked the records, saw this to be true and apologised and said the only reason they contacted me at all was because one neighbour had reported 3 people in our estate and had made numerous complaints - they had to follow up because of the number of times he contacted them. To be honest if she hadn't hounded them I doubt they would have cared. one other neighbour had also bought them out, so no prob there and the third who was renting out illegally, was just asked to move back in, but he did for 1 mth and then left again! they did nothing!

    if it bothers someone so much that they feel the need to report it then by all means do it, but stand by your convictions and give your name or nothing will be done. And I also feel strongly that if you report this man you should look at some of the others who have partners living with them full time but don't admit it and pay only €18! I would bet my bottom dollar that there are plenty in her estate doing this also. Why only target one individual if obeying the rules is so important to you?


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