I’m constantly ashamed of our situation’: Tell us about your experiences with Ireland’s housing crisis!
We wanted to get a sense of what individuals are living in in 2021 — what kinds of situations they are in, how they got there, what challenges they have faced, and what barriers they have encountered. buy and sell
Housing has long been a problem in Ireland, and this year, more than ever, the cracks in the housing supply have been apparent.
People have not felt heard, as we discovered through our callout. Thank you was a prevalent phrase in the emails we received — many were glad for the opportunity to tell their tale.
You’ll hear from folks who have recently moved here from abroad, people who are considering moving abroad, long-term tenants who are unable to move on, and buyers who have run into roadblocks and legal concerns.
The examples demonstrate that we must abandon preconceptions and clichés about housing in Ireland. Many people, not just families or couples, are having difficulty finding affordable housing.
Many of the people who wrote to us expressed their dissatisfaction with the government and their fear for the future. Others, on the other hand, consider themselves fortunate to be living in their ideal home. ‘I was given a 100% mortgage — as well as a €20,000 loan.’
“I came to Sligo and decided to see if I could acquire a mortgage to buy a property a year later. I was sure the bank would say no because I had no savings! BOI said no problem and immediately handed me a 100 percent mortgage. I paused, stating that I had no intention of taking out a mortgage because I lacked the financial means to furnish a new home, purchase furnishings, and so on. No problem, BOI said, here’s a €20,000 loan on top of the 100% mortgage!
“By 2009, I was having major financial difficulties attempting to pay off my mortgage, a loan, and a credit card. My loan was extended by BOI in order to pay off the credit card, which was then terminated. In 2013, I had to relocate for job due to the recession, so I rented out my property in Sligo and hired a room in the new county. Because the rent in Sligo was insufficient to cover the mortgage, I was paying both rent and mortgage payments.
“There was no way I could afford to rent on my own or consider another mortgage during the eight years I lived in the other county — the Sligo house was still in negative equity. It was awful living in a home share for eight years. For me, the Covid epidemic had a silver lining. My place of employment has a flexible working arrangement, therefore I was allowed to return to my Sligo home.
“However, I am aware that I am one of the fortunate few.
‘I feel betrayed by the government.’
“I’m a mother of two children. Long-term lease. Currently paying a rent of €2,500 per month. There are no houses available for purchase at a reasonable price. Over the years, I’ve contacted a slew of lawmakers and received no response.
“I’m 46 years old, and my children have relocated a lot throughout the years. I feel betrayed by the government.”
‘We feel entrapped,’ Keith says.
“My wife and I are in our forties and have lived in private renting housing for almost a decade at the same home. My annual salary is roughly €25,000, and my wife receives Disability Allowance of €90 per week.
“The rent was €600 when we first moved in in 2010.” In 2018, this was raised to €800. There have never been any utilities included. We were approved for HAP in late 2020 (we were approved for the council housing list but advised the wait would be quite long therefore HAP would fit us better) which cuts our rent payments down to roughly €340 a month, making us lucky than a lot of people.
“We still feel imprisoned because mortgage income constraints mean we’ll never be able to buy a home on my wage, even though we’re able to manage any repayments because we’ve been renting for so long and have enough money for a down payment.
“I believe that something needs to be done to make it possible for low-income families to purchase a home. ”
‘We’ve been priced out of Dublin and Wicklow,’ James says.
“I work for the government, and my partner works in education. We’re in our forties and have always rented, but because to a promotion I received, we’re finally able to buy thanks to our meager funds.
“Ex-council houses in the Dublin area where I grew up are now €400k, so we started shopping nearby Wicklow, only to be priced out as well. We’re now looking at Wexford.
“The public housing sell-off was the worst thing that ever happened in this country; it resulted in an explosion in house values, which successive governments have nurtured instead of providing a framework for people to save for their retirement that isn’t based on ever-increasing inflation of residential property prices.
“This measure will reshape the country’s historic landlord and tenant classes. Housing must become a right, not a retirement nest egg. I’d be happy to see the value of whatever house we buy drop in order to accomplish this; it’s the right thing to do as a society.” ‘This was my last chance to buy a house at a reasonable price,’ Daniel says.
“At the start of 2020, I located a nice house in West Cork for an affordable price, close to my employment, and had enough money to buy it. My bid was accepted by the vendor, but then the problems began. There were various boundary concerns, Covid had just arrived, so the surveyor had to cease working, the solicitors were still getting acclimated to working from home, and the sale was barely moving forward during the lockdown.
“After a year of dithering, it was discovered that there were two people with a right of abode on this property, both of whom proved impossible to remove. I moved into three different short-term rentals while seeking to buy the house in the hopes that it would be resolved shortly. I had given up and pulled out about halfway through until the vendor contacted me and assured me that they would fix the issue, so I gave them another try.
“The seller eventually pulled out and swiftly re-advertised the house for an additional €50,000, but the ad was promptly withdrawn. The house has yet to be sold, and boundary and title difficulties have yet to be resolved. Since working from home became a trend, prices in the neighborhood have skyrocketed.
“Looks like this was my final chance to buy a house in West Cork for a reasonable price till the next recession.”
