Housing Minister vows Wexford landlords ‘won’t get away with it’ after mass eviction notices
Sarah Slater
Minister for Housing James Browne has said that “any landlord in Wexford who breaks the rules will not get away with it" under his watch after 36 eviction notices were served on households in the county.
The Minister was referring to notices of termination which were issued to people renting houses in the Hazelwood Estate in Bridgetown, Co Wexford.
Affected tenants received the notices last Friday, in advance of the Government’s new rental rules, which came into effect on Sunday, March 1st.
It is estimated about 100 people, including children, are affected by the termination notices issued to 36 homes. Some have been instructed that they must vacate their properties in May and others in August.
It is understood the properties are owned by a developer, Patchflow Ltd. When contacted for comment, a receptionist responded that no one within the company would be available to give a statement.
Under the new rules, landlords will have to keep rent-price increases capped at 2 per cent, or the rate of inflation, annually. However, in the cases of new tenancies, owners can reset it to the market rate with no limit.
Tenancies started after Sunday will have a minimum duration of six years, and there will also be more stringent grounds for eviction.
In the statement Browne said he was “very concerned” by some of the reports over the weekend from tenants in this estate in Bridgetown and added: “I won’t stand for it”.
The Wexford-based Minister continued: “I’ve spoken directly to the head of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), and the National Head of Disputes is on the way down in-person to Wexford to meet residents and investigate what’s happening here. Everything is being examined to understand how tenants’ rights may be impacted.”
He said that he wanted to be “very clear” in how he views evictions.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there insinuating this move by the landlord is a ‘reaction’ to the new rental rules. The fact is that existing tenants have rights - and the landlord has responsibilities, under legislation.”
Browne highlighted that landlords “cannot reset rent for a new tenancy if the previous one ended via a ‘no-fault eviction’ within the last two years, even in the case where there has been a sale to a new landlord”.
He said that he is “monitoring” this particular situation “very closely as we gather the facts”.
“I strongly suspect there may be a number of grounds under our current rules that may have been breached. I will ensure that tenants rights are applied fully for the tenants concerned. Landlords cannot use the new rental rules, which are for newly formed tenancies, as an excuse to evict their current tenants,” Browne noted.
An emergency information meeting was held by Wexford County Council on Monday afternoon, which lasted several hours.
Local Fianna Fáil councillor Lisa McDonald, who is also a solicitor, is to represent the residents pro bono, while Councilor Aoife Rose O’Brien and Labour TD George Lawlor have also met with residents in efforts to gather all the facts.
“Obviously this is a devastating blow for any tenant, but to have 36 in one estate is very, very shocking and concerning,” said McDonald.
“My understanding is that the landlord company has not engaged with any of the tenants to see if any of them wanted to buy out properties. They just served this across the board, indiscriminately, and I would say there are questions to be answered by the landlord,” she said, speaking on South East Radio’s Morning Mix.
“This seems to be in breach of the Tyrrelstown Agreement,” of the Residential Tenancies Act.
In a statement, the RTB said it is “aware of the case” in Hazelwood Estate.
The RTB’s Director spoke with Browne on Monday, and RTB staff are attending a meeting in Wexford with affected tenants to provide information on their rights under rental law and on the RTB Dispute Resolution Service.
“As the situation in Hazelwood Estate is now the subject of ongoing RTB dispute cases, the RTB cannot comment further on the case at this time,” the statement added.
The RTB said it is closely monitoring Notices of Termination received during the period of transition to new rental rules from March 1st.
Where the RTB identifies that a landlord has served 10 or more Notices of Termination to end tenancies in the same development in a six-month period, the RTB is writing to the landlord concerned to remind them of their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act and the Tyrrelstown Amendment.
When a landlord issues a Notice of Termination to their tenant, they must send it to the RTB on the same day.
After the RTB receives a Notice of Termination, the RTB also writes to the tenant(s) to advise them of their right to bring a dispute case to them.
If a tenant believes that their landlord has served an invalid Notice of Termination, they have 90 days from when they receive the notice to apply for dispute resolution.
A Notice of Termination cannot take effect while an RTB dispute case is ongoing. Dispute hearings will decide if the Notice of Termination was legally valid, including if the landlord has breached the Tyrrelstown Amendment.
