Threshold: Rise in number supported to avoid homelessness

The number of people who were prevented from entering homelessness by the housing charity, Threshold, increased by almost a fifth in a year, according to its latest impact report.

Between April and June, the charity supported 1,065 households, including 1,449 adults and 1,165 children, to stay in their homes or secure alternative housing.

It is a rise of 17.5% compared to the same period last year.

In the third quarter of this year, 51% of the main queries to the charity related to tenancy terminations.

Standards and repairs along with rent reviews or rent increases were also among the top concerns raised by renters who contacted Threshold.

Threshold CEO John-Mark McCafferty described the number of clients getting in touch regarding tenancy terminations as "concerning".

"This shows an ongoing trend of more private landlords leaving the rental market than entering, reducing the options available to renters in Ireland," he said.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr McCafferty said landlords selling up or moving a family member into a property - which they are entitled to do - remains a sustained and stubborn problem for people in the rental market.

He said that the tenant in-situ scheme has been a successful initiative, but added that it is not "a silver bullet".

The quarterly report also highlights problems facing some tenants when they try to get their full deposits back from landlords.

Threshold has called for a Deposit Retention Scheme, which already exists throughout the UK, to be rolled out in Ireland.

The charity has been advocating for the protection of deposits from renters since 2009.

According to the charity, the Deposit Retention Scheme would result in the lodgement of deposits with an independent third party, ensuring "their prompt return" at the end of a tenancy "unless a genuine cost arises".

It also believes the scheme would save time and money for tenants, the Residential Tenancies Board and in many cases benefit landlords in the avoidance of potentially lengthy RTB disputes.

Threshold asked Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien, who has received a report on the matter, to take the necessary steps to see a deposit protection scheme set up in Ireland.