Housing Charity Apologises Over ‘Viewing Fees’ Mix-up

Threshold, the housing charity, has apologised for wrongly claiming that landlords were charging people 'viewing fees' to see their properties.

The charity said that a woman was asked to pay €500 just to view the property. They claimed she was told it was a requirement of anyone viewing the property.

The story got widespread coverage in national and local media with the Labour party issuing a statement saying it was drafting legislation to stop the practice.

Rents are rising at a rapid rate across the country and so many people are already priced out of the rental market. Landlords who are charging viewing fees are taking advantage of people at the centre of #HousingCrisis @JanOSullivanTD https://t.co/bQWSyG5vsT #RaiseTheRoof pic.twitter.com/dn4oCG3Zbr
— The Labour Party (@labour) October 16, 2018

According to Today FM, the charity has clarified the comments saying that it was referring to cases where prospective tenants were being asked to bring money to viewings to secure accommodation.

The charity has said the practice of asking for an upfront deposit still excludes people on low incomes and HAP.