Social housing offers and refusals – what’s the law?
In the context of recent media reports discussing statistics on refusals of offers of social housing, we outline the legal framework that applies to offers of social housing and provide important context to some common grounds of refusal. On 12 June 2023 the Sunday Independent published an article titled ‘Too small, no garden, ‘unsuitable’ location, […]
Opening remarks from Edward Gleeson, Chair of the Board of Mercy Law Resource Centre, at launch of report which examines the impact of the 5 year partnership between Mercy Law, A&L Goodbody and Focus Ireland
“It is my great pleasure as Chair of Mercy Law to be here today at A&L Goodbody for the launch of Housing Rights and Homelessness-Lessons from a Pro Bono Partnership-Impact of Pandemic and Beyond. This is a very timely occasion as homelessness statistics again reach a new high of 12,259 and the need for inter-agency […]
New data accessed by MLRC on number and duration of Family Long Stays in Emergency Accommodation
According to Dublin Regional Homelessness Authority data received by Mercy Law under a Freedom of Information request on February 28th, 2023, there were 203 families living in emergency accommodation for two or more years across the Dublin Local Authority areas. This represents 363 adults and 523 children, and 17.42% of all families in emergency accommodation. […]
Rent-a-Room Scheme extended to Local Authority homes
Senior ministers agreed last week at Cabinet to extend the Rent-a-Room scheme to all housing types, including local authority Council homes. This means Council tenants will be permitted to rent out rooms in their houses for up to €14,000 a year, tax-free. The Government hopes to add the equivalent of 28,000 homes across the country […]
MLRC – Submission for Housing Commission’s Public Consultations, April 2023
[fusion_builder_container type=”flex” hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” border_style=”solid”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_repeat=”no-repeat” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”no” hover_type=”none” min_height=”” link=””][fusion_text] The Housing Commission’s public consultation is open until 18 April 2023. Brief submissions are sought on a series of questions which aim […]
Know Your Rights: Ending of the Eviction Ban
[fusion_builder_container type=”flex” hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” border_style=”solid”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_repeat=”no-repeat” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”no” hover_type=”none” min_height=”” link=””][fusion_text] In this Know your Rights flyer, MLRC explains the legal rights of those who will be impacted by the ending of the […]
The Social Housing Support – Household Means Policy 2021
The Social Housing Support – Household Means Policy 2021 (the policy) as it is currently worded it appears to give local authorities little or no scope to allow access to social housing supports for those whose current income is below the income threshold but whose income may have exceeded the threshold when a calculation is […]
Conference on Mental Health, Social Housing Supports and Homelessness
Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) is hosting a Conference on Mental Health, Social Housing Supports and Homelessness on 16 February 2023 from 9.30am – 1pm in the Dublin Dispute Resolution Centre, 145-151 Church Street, Dublin 7. This multi-disciplinary conference will see legal experts, social work professionals and academic voices discuss issues facing people with mental health difficulties when accessing social housing […]
Final Hour Campaign 2022
Reflecting back on 2022, Mercy Law Resource Centre launched its first ever Final Hour Campaign on 23 November. The campaign asked law firms across Ireland to consider donating the last billable hour of the year – either as a single contribution on behalf of a law firm, or a call-to-action for individual lawyers in the […]
Reflection on the Reopening of MLRC’s Legal Clinics
As we come to the end of the year, our solicitor Paul Dornan reflects back on our legal clinics in 2022. It was an honour to be able to staff our flagship legal clinic over the last few months. The clinic was launched in June as the first in-person legal clinic operated by Mercy Law […]
