Nenagh couple with eight children fear homelessness

A MARRIED couple with eight children living in Nenagh have told of their battle to avoid homelessness after receiving a notice to vacate the property they have rented for over eight years.

Life became precarious for Weronika Kozlowska (39), her husband Lukasz Kozlowski (41) and their eight children, ranging in age from 19 to 3, when they received a notice to quit their rented home at Millersbrook, Nenagh, last January.

Ever since, Weronika and Lukasz have lived in fear that they and their children could end up on the streets as their efforts since then to find a new home in the private rental sector or secure social have proved futile.

They say they could afford to pay €1,000 a month in rent in the private market. However, finding an affordable property to accommodate their large family in the midst of a housing crisis has proven impossible.

Finding a solution to their plight became desperate in recent weeks, in particular, as the notice to quit their current home came in to effect on Monday last, August 19.

They couple say that after making several efforts to obtain social housing, Tipperary County Council informed them by letter on Wednesday last that it has deemed them ineligible for social housing because their income exceeds the threshold for eligibility.

The council informed the couple as follows: “The maximum allowed under the Household Means Policy for you household of two adults and eight children is €37,500. Your annual income has been calculated at €61,129.77.”

Lukasz works in Limerick and the couple says they have a weekly income of €1,100. But they say that amount of money does not go far when there are ten mouths to feed and eight children to clothe and educate.

“We feel discriminated against because of the number of children we have,” Weronika told The Guardian.

She says that their family income, when broken down to each member of their large family, is far less when compared to a single person on an income of just under €30,000 who would qualify for social housing.

no logic

“There is no logic to this,” says Weronika.

She pointed out that even if the family did qualify for social housing, the maximum sized four-bedroom homes in the council's housing stock would be deemed too small for their family of ten.

“The moral is that the more [children] you have, the more you are outside the system - the more you are excluded from society,” says Weronika.

She says that having tried desperately to obtain social housing, her conclusion is that the system only helps “selected people” at risk of homelessness, and definitely not large families like hers.

The couple have made representations to social housing agencies, local councillors and even the Minister for Housing. However, they say none of the above have offered a solution for their plight - that is until local Independent councillor Séamie Morris intervened.

Cllr Morris confirmed to The Guardian that following negotiations initiated by a local management company responsible for their current home, the landlord was now willing to sell the property to the council.

This development have given the family some hope, despite still facing a doubtful future.

“Maybe our homelessness problem will be solved and everything will end well, but I do not know it,” said Weronika.

Contact by this newspaper, Cllr Morris said the latest developments in the family's saga still leaves them in doubt about their future accommodation needs. “This case is not over the line yet, but at least there is some light at the end of the tunnel for them,” he said. “The landlord has indicated that he is willing to sell the house to the council if they will do business with him. But having said that, the council will have to see if the house is suitable and if a price can be agreed.”

Cllr Morris added that if the council does proceed to purchase the house for the family, there was a scheme in place where Wrenokia and Lukasz could then pay rent to the local authority, the amout of which would be calculated on their income.

‘HORRIFIC’

Speaking generally about the lack of housing in the Nenagh Municipal District, Cllr Morris described the situation as “horrific”.

He said he had 20 people on his own personal list who made representations to him because they were either homeless or threatened with homelessness.

“I have one man living in a car who has not been able to get a house over the past year,” he said.

Cllr Morris accused the government of talking “waffle” in relation to solving the housing crisis. He said that to start tackling the crisis in an effective way the State would have to make it easier for adult children to build on lands owned by their parents.

He also called for an easing of restrictions on the use of modular homes and for new retirement villages to be developed right across Tipperary and the State.