Kilkenny Council owed €600,000 in unpaid rent on local authority houses

Kilkenny County Council is owed more than €600,000 in rent on local authority properties, creating a huge hole in its coffers.

A special meeting looking at ways the council can tackle the rent arrears issue will be held this month.

Councillors will hear the financial extent of the shortfall, what processes are currently in place to deal with rent arrears and what more can be done to tackle the issue.

Other local authorities such as Waterford City and County Council are adapting a zero-tolerance approach under certain circumstances and are refusing to supply anything other than emergency maintenance to properties in arrears.

In exceptional cases, Waterford’s local authority has evicted a small number of tenants who consistently failed to pay their rent.

However, Kilkenny Council officials are urging caution against a zero-tolerance approach and its implications. They hope the meeting will examine the rent arrears and the individual dynamic of each case in a balanced way.