Housing

New ministerial guidelines aimed at creating more attractive, liveable, well-designed, high-quality urban places have been published. The Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines have been issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, mea

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has issued a legal challenge over the allocation of 'intimidation points' to social housing applicants. The case against the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the Department for Communities argues that the housing selection scheme, as current

Housing problems made up more than four in 10 cases dealt with by Community Law & Mediation (CLM) last year as the Irish housing and cost-of-living crises intensified. The independent community law centre and charity, located in Dublin and Limerick, assisted nearly 5,000 people last year through

Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) saw a 10 per cent increase in requests for legal assistance and a dramatic 250 per cent increase in clients seeking to access emergency homelessness accommodation last year, according to its latest annual report. The independent law centre, which provides free legal

Landmark new planning legislation will improve access to justice by "switching away from a 'no foal no fee' basis to one where we are going to cover the costs, win or lose", transport minister Eamon Ryan has claimed. Ministers yesterday approved the Planning and Development Bill 2023, which the Depa

The State has become the most important actor in the housing market, but action must be taken to prevent over-reliance on the State and boost private sector involvement, a senior property lawyer at ByrneWallace LLP has said. Michael Walsh, chair of property, made the comments after the firm's Housin

UN experts have called on the Irish government to take urgent steps to ensure access to housing and assistance for victims of trafficking, recognising the trauma endured by victims and ongoing needs for protection. Siobhán Mullally, the special rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially

Victims of domestic violence who cannot return home should be recognised in law as homeless, the Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) has said in a new report. The Social Housing, Domestic Violence and the Public Sector Duty report was launched by Labour leader and legal academic Ivana Bacik at a multid

Draft planning guidelines aimed at creating "more sustainable and compact settlements" have gone out to consultation. The draft Sustainable and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities expand on the National Planning Framework in relation to compact growth and in relation to the creat

Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) will next month host a conference on social housing, domestic violence and the public sector duty. The multi-disciplinary conference in Dublin's Wisdom Centre on Tuesday 5 September, 9.30am–1pm, will see academic and legal experts as well as civil society voice

The High Court has cancelled a notice of termination served on a tenant following a Tenancy Tribunal determination for acts of anti-social behaviour allegedly committed by her son in the vicinity. The court found that the Tribunal incorrectly determined that the tenant had “allowed” this

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has secured a settlement on behalf of a tenant who brought a complaint of discrimination on the housing assistance ground. The discrimination related to a considerable delay by a management company in submitting the required documentation to the relevan

So-called 'sex-for-rent' arrangements would be criminalised under new draft legislation proposed by Sinn Féin. Eoin Ó Broin, the party's housing spokesperson, today published a draft Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (Sex for Rent) Bill 2023 which he will seek to introduce when the D&a

The Housing Commission has failed to reach a consensus on constitutional change and is set to publish two rival reports as a result, according to The Irish Times. The Commission was tasked with considering housing policy in general as well as bringing forward proposals on the wording for a referendu

The High Court has held that the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) does not have jurisdiction to determine whether a valid tenancy existed in possession proceedings and, as such, refused an application by a defendant to adjourn the High Court proceedings until the RTB made a determination on the ten