Council's €30m rents recovery plan ‘failing'

13% rise in arrears for tenants in local authority housing

- SEAN McCARTHAIGH

ACTIONS taken by Dublin City Council to reduce more than €30million in rent arrears by tenants in local authority housing do not appear effective, a spending watchdog has claimed.

An audit for 2019 showed arrears grew from €27.8million in 2018 to €31.5million – an increase of 13%.

Rent collection rates also dropped by three percentage points to 73%.

A report by the Local Government Audit Service said the increase in arrears was significant and presented a financial risk for the council.

It highlighted how 18,000 out of 26,000 tenants were behind with their rent at the end of 2019.