Galway City Council has issued advice for households who have received eviction notices from their landlord and are worried or unsure of what to do.
The Council advised anyone affected by termination notices of the services that are available to them in these circumstances, and said that tenants should contact their Housing Department as soon as the notice is received.
When the tenants contact Galway City Council, staff in the department will take note of the termination date, and they may refer the notice to Threshold, a housing service funded by the Local Authority.
Threshold can also be contacted directly on Freephone at 1800 454 454 or via their website, threshold.ie, which contains more information and advice on the validity of their notice.
The Council’s first response will be to try to prevent homelessness including assessing the person’s position on the social housing list, providing advice on applying for Choice Based Lettings, advising the person on the level of Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) they may be eligible to receive, and, in some cases, assessing if the Council can acquire the dwelling where the tenants reside if it is being offered for sale.
Placement in emergency accommodation will be a last resort, if no other alternative can be identified.
For households in emergency accommodation there will be support to assist them to access more permanent social housing supports in the shortest possible timeframe.
Galway City Council will be liaising with other neighbouring local authorities to deal with tenancy issues that may require an inter-authority approach.
The Council says that it is aware that the Government is examining options to allow tenants who are not eligible for social housing to remain in their homes.
The Council is awaiting further details on the proposed schemes from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The contact details below should be used by tenants who may have received a notice of termination or a landlord who has issued a notice of termination to their tenants and who may wish to sell their property to the Council.
Galway City Council Housing Department
Monday-Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm 091- 536400. Email: housing@galwaycity.ie
