A Galway landlord who claimed he was selling a house when he terminated a tenancy, but went on to advertise the property at a rent nearly 50 per cent higher, has been ordered to pay €3,000 in damages.
Cathal Lennon, who had been renting the house in Merlin Park, Murrough, along with Robyn Kirby for nine months, claimed they received a text message from landlord Stewart Shephard asking them to leave within one month as he wished to sell.
This was subsequently changed in April of last year to three months’ notice, with Mr Lennon saying the pair were unable to find alternative accommodation until July.
About a month after they had moved, Ms Kirby mistakenly gave her old address for a package delivery. They called to their former home to collect the package and discovered it had been rented to new tenants.
A Daft.ie advertisement found by Mr Lennon, given as evidence to a Residential Tenancies Board tribunal, showed the property available to let for a period of three years at €2,200 per month. Mr Lennon told the tribunal they paid €1,500 per month and he believed Mr Shephard had breached rent pressure zone rules.
He said he was “upset” not to have been re-offered the property when it was “clear” Mr Shephard had not sold. He claimed Ms Kirby had lost her job due to difficulties in commuting from their new home.
He argued the termination procedure had been “abused” to get them to leave and allow Mr Shephard to obtain a higher rent, according to a tribunal report published this week.
Mr Shephard told the tribunal he had advertised the property for €2,200 per month, but claimed the new tenants paid €1,500.
Asked why the lease was for a minimum of three years if he intended to sell the property, he could not explain, claiming the new tenants had occupied the house for six months.
Mr Shephard claimed he wished to sell the house but two deals had “fallen through”.
The tribunal found that Mr Shephard “unjustly deprived” the tenants of possession of the house. It said he failed to provide adequate evidence of his intention to sell the property and that it should have been offered back to the former tenants.
“The tribunal finds that to allow a landlord to terminate a tenancy, advertise a dwelling for a higher rent and to not proceed with the sale would be to defeat the purpose of the legislation, which is to prevent tenancies being terminated without a bona-fide purpose,” it said.
It ordered Mr Shephard to pay damages of €3,000, describing it as a “fair and just award” reflecting the “inconvenience suffered” by the tenants.
