Councillors’ anger over social housing in private estate

County councillors vented their anger at a meeting this week over the local authority’s purchase of 14 houses in a private estate in Athenry for use as social housing – which neighbours claim will knock a total of €1.5 million off the value of their homes.

A clear message was delivered from Council officials – they cannot and will not engage in public consultations when buying private houses for use as social housing because they are commercial transactions requiring confidentiality.

The Council also rejected the claim that it was competing with first-time buyers for properties, stating that it queries whether offers have been made on properties by such potential buyers. The local authority said it will “withdraw” in such cases.

Councillor Jim Cuddy told the Council executive that the manner in which the 14 houses in the Lorro Gate development in Athenry were purchased was “underhand” and they should have been placed on the open market.

The matter was raised by Tuam area councillor Shaun Cunniffe said people had voiced concerns to him about the deal, including one lady who intended to purchase there, but had now decided not to.

He said that people were coming to him when a house in their estate came up for sale saying: “Please tell me the Council aren’t going to buy it.”

Cllr Cunniffe said that when a bad tenant goes into an area, there is nothing anybody can do about it.

Cllr Michael Connolly said that one of the things the Council executive is obliged to do when selling or disposing of a property is to engage with elected representatives, but there was no requirement when buying a property.

“There is a very genuine concern that properties are being devalued, and homeowners will be in negative equity as a result,” said Cllr Connolly.

Cllr Martina Kinnane said she was inundated with queries over the previous few days because of rumours that the Council is buying land for social housing in Oranmore.

“As a local councillor, I couldn’t answer them. They think I’m just not telling them. Everyone has a right to be house, but people have a right to have information,” she said.

Director of Services for Housing, Michael Owens, said the houses in Athenry were for sale as a single lot, and the local authority was therefore not competing with first-time buyers.

He said that in that instance, the only bodies which could have purchased the homes were the Council, an approved housing body with the Council’s backing or an institutional investor.

Mr Owens said housing acquisition is an executive function, and he could not engage in public commentary or debate on a purchase deal because it is a commercial transaction and he must respect requirements in terms of confidentiality.

He explained that he did not attend a meeting organised by local residents on Good Friday but outlined the Council’s position in a letter. He said locals had chosen to have legal representation, so any representation from the Council would now be through them.

Mr Owens said that other opportunities have arisen for multiple units to be purchased in single lots, and where appropriate and if the price represented value for money, the Council engaged.

“We acknowledge there are issues with antisocial behaviour. Of our 2,500 tenants, there’s a very small minority,” said Mr Owens, adding that the local authority has taken action in the past and had a number of successful outcomes in court; a number of cases are under appeal and a number are before the courts.

“It is important to note it is a very small minority of tenants [causing problems],” Mr Owens said.

Cllr Gabe Cronnelly said the houses in Lorro Gate should be allocated under an affordable housing scheme but was told there is no such scheme at the moment.

He said that when homes already allocated as social housing in the development (under Part V planning requirements from developers), 45% of the houses in the estate would be social.

“What is going on in Athenry in totally and utterly unforgivable. Why were the houses not put on the open market? First-time buyers could have gone in and bought them at the same price the Council was buying them at. This is totally underhand what’s going on here.

“Local people were prevented from buying individual houses here. They were sold en bloc. This is totally unacceptable. People who bought their houses in what was supposed to be a private housing estate have had auctioneers value them and have been told in no uncertain terms that if social housing goes ahead at the rate proposed, their houses will be devalued up to €100,000.

“This is going to put people in negative equity at a time when we’re trying to help people struggling with houses. People are genuinely fearful.

“We have a big problem. The vast majority of people in social housing are very decent people. But you will have the odd one. There is a fear factor among people that if they get an unwelcome neighbour coming into the area, they’re going to have a big problem. Their houses will devalue overnight,” said Cllr Cuddy.