Council may evict family – and then rehouse them

A separated city mother of three in mortgage arrears is facing eviction from her home as the local authority threatens legal action.
The woman, living on the east side of the city, is in part-time employment and is struggling to repay a mortgage to Galway City Council under the Affordable Housing scheme.
The Galway City Tribune understands that the woman has been sent several letters threatening eviction and legal action if payments aren’t reactivated.
The mother of young children, who is separated, is in part-time employment since the main breadwinner left the family home.
Ironically, if the City Council succeeds in its eviction it may have to find alternative accommodation for her on its social housing list, which is already bursting with over 10,000 people on a waiting list.
A City Council spokesperson said, in all cases of arrears, be it mortgage or commercial rates, eviction is the very last resort and the courts are used only when all other avenues have been explored.
A Council source familiar with the case said: “The Council is threatening to evict this woman and throw her and her three children out on the street. The thing is if they succeed in evicting this family, it is up to the City Council to house them. “
Affordable housing schemes targeted help at low to middle income families to buy their own homes. They offered first-time buyers a chance to purchase homes at rates far lower than market value with mortgages offered by local authorities.
The schemes were discontinued in 2011 but many people who bought on the schemes are struggling to repay the debt – several people in the city handed keys back as they could keep up with payments.
Galway City Council does not comment on individual cases.
For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.