Speaking to Dermot Keyes on 'the Saturday Show', Fianna Fail's Eamonn Quinlan said that when he began on the council he was dealing with a lot of negative equity and mortgage issues, but that's since moved on to increasing numbers of landlords selling properties to clear debt, resulting in tenants being left without accommodation.
He told Dermot that some people have had to resort to desperate measures, including one Waterford family who were forced to take temporary shelter in a tent.
"people that are renting houses and apartments are now getting letters from their landlords saying I am selling the property, and you now have eight weeks to find alternative accommodation."
Councillor Quinlan said this situation had required one family to sleep in a tent in the City Centre for two days, before suitable accommodation could be sourced.
Waterford Metropolitan Mayor Sean Reinhardt said that schemes such as HAP and RAS are not working.
"These short term solutions - are only prolonging the agony," he said, "they end up with multiple schemes that will not achieve what they're supposed to do when they come to a conclusion."
"Anything that's leased has to go back to a landlord at some stage."
