"We Have Nowhere To Go": 36 Women And Children Face Illegal Eviction In DePaul Accommodation

A group of 36 women and children are facing an illegal eviction from Rendu Apartments on William Street North. A reporter from Aontacht Media spoke to those affected to hear their accounts of the chaotic situation they find themselves in.

The emergency homeless accommodation is owned by DePaul Ireland, which works in partnership with Dublin City Council (DCC) and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) to triage cases. 

The residents were handed a formal notice to leave on November 27th, but are being pressured to leave immediately on the basis of carrying out renovations. In addition, despite promises to the contrary, they are not being provided with adequate alternative accommodation.

“We were fighting together at the beginning and it was like a big group, and they just instantly started to divide us and get us out very quickly, “ says Jane*, who is suffering from medical conditions which means that privacy is necessary in housing arrangements. She was told her bed was closed on Tuesday and that she had to collect her stuff, according to correspondence seen by Aontacht Media. As we made our way back to Rendu Apartments, she received a phone call allowing her to stay for an unspecified number of days.

“The new accommodation is completely medically unsuitable for me. I’m going to be sharing with 4 to 6 people “ she says, adding that “even this place was not medically suitable for me”. 

“They've been aware of the situation since March, like very aware, and they read all of the medical records and they just never acted. DRHE never acted, nobody acted, you know. So they were aware of the seriousness of it. Staff came to me asked me 'what is your Plan B?' and I later had a panic attack because it was just too much, “ she explains. 

Residents reportedly faced intimidation by staff. For instance, a male security officer entered a resident’s room without clear-cut permission, stood by the bed, and stated that the housing officer was downstairs waiting. 

“About 2-3 days ago, they came around trying to get us out. And it was very, very, very bad around the building, and we all were worried. I was worried that they were going to come in, you know, “ she says.

All of this has taken a severe toll on residents’ mental health, she points out. 

“One night one of the girls heard someone crying, and they said that she was like there at the door and was just crying her eyes out saying to them, please get me somewhere comfortable, please don't send me there, “ she says.

As we were discussing, Clodagh*, who is raising a toddler, told us that she is facing a similar challenge. She has been living in Rendu Apartments for two years. The toddler grew up in the house.

“She will be 3 years old the week after we get kicked out and is used to the house, “ she says.

“I was told yesterday that a HAP property was my only option because I won't meet the threshold for HUBs or that I'm ‘too independent’, “ she explains, adding that “I was offered a place. Well, I thought I was offered that place, but I wasn't even offered it. I was just nominated for it”. 

“I won't get accepted until I have a viewing. There could be other people also viewing this property as well, “ she says. In addition, the proposed alternative housing does not meet the requirements for her toddler. It would uproot the life of the toddler, does not take into account what happens when she grows older, and is far away from her crèche. 

“All I'm worried about is me and my child. So like, I don't really want to take HAP, you know, but I feel like I'm being pressured into taking, “ she explains. 

“I suffer from anxiety and depression and stuff like that, and I take antidepressants, and it's just, it's just like I get into a rut and I just can't get out of it, “ she adds, explaining that the residents are not being kept in the loop.

“It is heartbreaking, “ she concludes, ultimately putting the blame on the DCC as the source of the problem. Today, she was put under pressure to leave immediately. It seems that management are picking off the residents one by one, intimidating them to move out as quickly as possible. 

“We're getting fucked out, and we have nowhere to go “,  says Emma*, a resident who briefly passes by, adding that “we're not getting nowhere with them. Like, she's getting threatened with she has to take HAP“.  

“She doesn't have to take anything, “ she adds, condemning the intimidation by the authorities. 

“They have not been in contact with me yet. It is all up in the air, “ says Mia* over a phone call, who has been in the system since last November. Her daughters are 1 and 2-years old. “There are people with breast cancer here, so many with young children, some with newborns and we are all women, “ she states. 

She also points out that there has been no heating in the building for the last 3 weeks, which can also be understood as a tactic for making the residents leave. “They refuse to fix it and won’t pay for anyone to come out, “ she explains.  

“Only after Councillor Gavin Pepper came out and did a video, did DePaul send out a message to say ‘we are getting someone to fix the heating’, “ she says. Residents were turning on the stoves for heating. While electric heaters were provided by management, utility costs are paid by the residents. 

“It has made me feel very stressed. It is having an effect on my mental health. We don't know what is going to happen where we are going to live. I have 2 young children at the end of the day, and we are being uprooted, “ she explains. 

“This place was supposed to be the last place you live in before you are properly housed. This was promised to us. We are going backwards, “ she concludes, explaining that she was offered another emergency housing as an alternative. 

Despite their complaints, neither the DCC, the DRHE or DePaul have been forthcoming with solutions. They have been forced to turn to the media, politicians and to CATU, the national tenant’s union. A petition, which has since reached 125 signatures, has also been set up.

In a meeting with about a dozen residents, DePaul Ireland CEO David Carroll eventually admitted accountability for the chaotic situation residents find themselves in, but had initially blamed the DCC and the DRHE. He advised residents to work with staff. Blame is being passed around different authorities, with no clear solutions in sight.

The residents are licensees, which means they have limited rights. Nevertheless, “reasonable notice” is necessary for lawful eviction. Management, however, is trying to reframe the eviction process as a “moving on”.

Overall, the residents’ status as licensees allows the landlord to treat them as disposable, while imposing strict house rules. 

As we entered one of the rooms of our interviewees, staff knocked on the door, and advised us to make our way to a “meeting room” located in the communal area. Visitors must be signed in and adequate notice given to management. There is also a curfew imposed on visitors, essentially forbidding overnight stays. 

It is unclear, as of yet, in what form the housing bloc will reopen. It could continue as social housing, private rentals or as an IPAS service provider. This is a developing story.  

"Depaul has been running homeless services at Rendu in North William Street for the past 14 years. The service provides accommodation for families and women who are experiencing homelessness. In recent years it had become clear that the building was reaching the end of its current life and that it was critical and clear that plans had to be made for its longer term future to continue as a resource to serve the community. Following a recent statutory fire inspection report of the building it has become apparent that extensive works must be completed to maintain the current accommodation services in the building. 

The work needed to keep the building functioning to a minimum in the short term is extensive. Following engagement and consultation between Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) as the funders of the service, The Daughters of Charity (the owners of the building) and Depaul it was agreed that this short term costly fix was not a responsible use of charitable donations or public funds and would not constitute value for money therefore closing the service was agreed as the most prudent course of action. This is in light of also the fact that plans are about to be submitted for the reconstruction of the site.

As a consequence the services will close as of the 27th of November. We are doing this with sadness but a clear understanding that it is necessary and the only way forward currently - Depaul's main focus now is to work with DRHE to ensure all current service users are relocated to appropriate accommodation suitable for their needs, " Depaul Ireland said in a statement to Aontacht Media, also claiming that the use of the term "eviction" is "inaccurate in the text" because the "DRHE is accommodating all of the service users moving them from Depaul's homeless accommodation, Rendu which is closing, to other homeless accommodation". 

* Names have been changed to protect the anonymity of the women and children involved, for fear of retribution against the residents.