This week, county council tenants in North Cork were hit with rental bills that are in some cases double what they were paying before. A motion on the issue will be brought before the Northern Area Committee meeting in Mallow on Monday by Councillor Frank O’Flynn, who will be calling on the council to reverse the rent increase, which he has described as being ‘exorbitant’.

He said that for some residents, they have seen their rent skyrocket from €16 or €17 a week to €47, which represents more than a 100% increase and he said that some tenants simply cannot to afford to pay this. The Avondhu understands that the increase in rent is due to a new rental scheme for North Cork and West Cork, which was adopted in November and has now come into force.

‘BREAKING POINT’

“It’s a savage increase. A lot of these residents have never asked the council for anything, they have maintained the property themselves and kept them in pristine condition and now they are hit with this out of the blue,” Cllr O’Flynn told The Avondhu. 

He added that on top of ESB increases, looming water charges and the fuel allowance being gone, this is a hardship that many families cannot face. Cllr O’Flynn said that many of the tenants are retired pensioners or people with young families and he has been told that some families will have to face going hungry because of the unprecedented rent hike.

“In these times, it is an extreme hardship for people and some of them feel that they are at breaking point,” he said.