COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
Monday, April 13, 2015
QUESTION NO.7
QUESTION: Councillor P. Foley
Is there a process for evicting a local authority tenant for persistent anti-social behaviour? Can details of the process be provided? How many instances of this has there been in the last 3 years?
REPLY:
South Dublin County Council's Anti Social Behaviour Strategy outlines the methodologies and proceedures for dealing with issues of Anti -Social Behaviour. The main provisions for dealing with anti-social behaviour are provided for in the Housing ( Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.
The principal objectives of the Anti- Social Strategy are
- The prevention and reduction of anti social behaviour
- The co-ordination of services to deal with anti social behaviour
- The continuation of a multi agency approach to dealing with anti social behaviour
- The promotion of good Estate Management
- The maintenance of the anti social database and the measurement of performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of the response systems
In general the Anti Social team will investigate every complaint and follow up in one or all of the following ways:
Conduct interviews with victim and alleged perpetrator
Issue verbal and written warnings as appropriate
Refer to other agencies where appropriate
Issue Notice to Quit where appropriate (Eviction of whole household )
Court proceedings
The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 provides for actions to be taken in cases of tenancies relating to anti-social behaviour mainly in the areas of tenancy warnings, proceedings for possession of local authority dwellings, abandoned local authority dwellings, court processes in respect of tenancy terminations etc. but these particular sections of the Act have not yet been commenced.
The Council in all cases would work with the families in an effort to resolve situations, as it maybe only one member of a household who is the cause of the anti social behaviour and rather than evict the entire family the Council would encourage the tenants to seek an exclusion order against the relevant member of the family. In some cases the Council have negotiated the voluntary surrender of some properties.
In the past three years 13 Notices to Quit have been issued in respect of Anti Social Behaviour and there are currently 3 cases where legal proceedings have been issued. There have been 42 Pre-emptive surrender of dwellings. There have been no evictions for Anti Social behaviour in the past three years.