The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) has begun an investigation after notices of termination were issued to 36 households in Co Wexford, the Minister for Housing has said.
Speaking to media in Dublin on Wednesday, James Browne denied the evictions were connected to new tenancy rules that came into effect on Sunday, saying there is “no economic benefit” for the landlord in question.
Some 36 households in the Hazelwood Estate in Bridgetown received notices of termination on Friday, two days before new rental legislation came into effect.
It is estimated about 100 people, including children, are affected by the notices issued by developer Patchflow Ltd.
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Under the reforms, tenancies beginning after Sunday will have a minimum duration of six years. This is alongside more restrictive rules surrounding evictions.
Noting it must have been “absolutely horrifying” for the tenants to receive the eviction notices, the Minister said he “immediately” had his department raise it with the RTB, adding he spoke directly with the rental watchdog’s director, Rosemary Steen, about the case.
“I know the head of enforcement went down there on Monday, and the RTB have been down there ever since. I am conscious it is now an active investigation, so I am limited in terms of what I can say,” he said.
Asked whether he regularly requested the RTB to assess such incidents, the Minister said he had “no difficulty” raising cases brought to his attention.
The Fianna Fáil TD for Wexford said tenants were generally in a “very vulnerable position when you balance against landlords, who are often well-funded” and have access to “a lot of information”, saying there is inequality “between them”.
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Asked whether it was a “coincidence” that the eviction notices were served two days before new rental rules came into effect, Browne said he could not “step into the mind of the landlord” or their motivation “to do it on that weekend”.
“I’ve seen lots of allegations from the Opposition, saying that this is not a coincidence ... none of them have pointed to a single thing in the new legislation that facilitates this or motivates this.
“If people under existing law are evicted other than by voluntarily, you don’t get the resetting rights, so there’s no economic benefit here to doing it. So I don’t really understand why a landlord would do this,” he said.
Since Sunday, landlords have been able to reset rents to market value for new tenancies. Thereafter, rents can be reset to market rates every six years or at the start of a new tenancy, where tenants leave voluntarily.
The Minister added that the Co Wexford case, alongside “all cases that this situation might arise”, are being monitored to ensure the Tyrrelstown Amendment, a law introduced to prevent the termination of 10 or more tenancies in a property at the same time to sell, is “fit and effective for purpose”.
