Sir – Kitty Holland (“Homeless crisis in need of urgent action”, April 26th) highlights the new homelessness of families with children.
Solutions include the most obvious, making more homes available by renovating vacant properties and building more houses. While voluntary housing agencies also suggest increased rent allowances and the introduction of rent controls, these may have unintended consequences in terms of additional rent increases or reduced supply of rental accommodation.
But there also needs to be creative thinking in terms of resolving this latest crisis. Many local authorities have a significant stock of three- and two-bedroom units, but one-bedroom units are like gold dust. The result is that families who separate, as in the case of Sabrina McMahon, can leave one partner alone in a family home and another homeless with children.
I am part of a national housing strategy group and am aware that councils are considering the concept of “room rate liveable rooms”, where larger houses are divided up into bedsit type units and single people can have tenancies within a divided house.
While this may be below the expectations of many, it is nevertheless a practical way to make the best use in the interim of existing council accommodation, and is already a model that is in place in other jurisdictions. Yours, etc,
FRANK BROWNE,
Ballyroan Park,
Templeogue,
Dublin 16