Locked Out: ‘Our rent had been €950 for our four bedroom house, you would barely get a room for that now’

A YOUNG Navan woman says her mental health has deteriorated after she was forced to move into her parents house having been unable to source accommodation for her partner and three young children in Navan.

The woman who asked not to be named says despite getting six months notice to vacate the property after their landlord decided to sell the house they had been living in for the last eight years it has been impossible to find a home.

"We got our notice just before Christmas last year, we notified the council that we had to leave that property and they told us to keep looking for a house and if we couldn't find one to contact there emergency housing department," she said.

"At the time we checked Navan and the prices were just jaw dropping, we were so shocked at how expensive things had become. Our rent had been €950 for a four bedroom house, you would barely get a room for that now.

"There was very little available but we never even got to view anything, the minute a landlord hears the word HAP you get every excuse under the sun.

“There's this misconception that if you are a HAP occupant you seem to be trouble which is so untrue. We have a glowing reference from our landlord and we have never been late paying rent.

"There are a lot of other people applying for them as well. When we looked before Christmas there was only four properties in Navan to rent.

"We tried to get through Christmas and then we were hoping in the new year that we'd have a bit more luck."

The Navan mum thought her luck changed earlier this year when a house became available but her hope soon turned to panic when things didn't work out. She says if it wasn't for the help of family she, her partner and three children under seven would be homeless.

"Through word of mouth we found a house in March but then it fell through and I was devastated," she recalls. "I didn't know what to do, I thought we are going to be homeless.

"When you have a child who is very aware you are trying to keep things positive, the home we were in is all she ever knew. My children all came home to that house, it was our home.

"My family came forward, my parents are very supportive and said we can see this is affecting you are your mental health, why don't you move back in with us. They said we can't watch you go through this.

"There is ten of us in a four bedroom property. We are just living day to day now hoping something will come around. It seem to be going from bad to worse. Most of our belongings are in storage.

"The last thing you want to do as a parent is go into emergency accommodation. We were just blessed we had family who were willing to help but there are a lot of people out there who don't have that."

"My mental health has really gone down hill. I am just stressing and worrying about my kids and our future.

"Even my kids are impacted by this, they have lost their home and don't really understand why. They are living in crowded spaces and they want to know why some of their toys were taken away. We just want them to be able to feel safe. My seven year old has said to my partner, I heard mammy crying. I'm trying to stay strong but there is only so much you can take.

"No one seems to care. All we are hearing about are homeless people and Ukrainian refugees and these people need help too but what about people who are living in overcrowded conditions that didn't choose this but had no option."

The worried mum who has been on the social housing list for the past three years says rents have skyrocketed so much she could end up paying up to €1,500 more than what she was paying prior to the housing crisis.

"I've seen properties go as high as €2,500 per month. If they are looking for €2,000 you are going to be paying €4,000 upfront, that is a huge amount of money.

"With the housing market as it is, there's not a hope that a single income family will ever be able to afford to save or buy a house. You'd have to pray to win the lotto at this point."