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Independent.ie can reveal that more than 30 private landlords have had 10 or more cases brought against them by different tenants for issues such as retention deposits, illegal evictions, and poor living conditions.
An analysis of disputes filed with the Residential Leasing Board (RTB) for the past six years shows how a cohort of landlords continues to rent despite constantly violating leasing laws, with some not paying money to tenants after RTB ruled against him.
The RTB ordered a Co Monaghan owner to pay more than € 44,000 to several tenants for illegally ending tenancies and retaining security deposits.
He has had more than 10 cases taken against him, with RTB’s decision in favor of tenants in 90% of cases.
In March, tenants were ordered to pay the rent of one of their properties for € 9,000 in damages for illegal termination of possession and loss of belongings. In 2018, different tenants were ordered to pay € 10,604 in damages for illegal evictions, withholding of security deposits and overpayment of rent.
A tenant who leased him a property told Independent.ie about his “extremely stressful” experience.
In 2018, she took a case and was ordered by RTB to pay her € 3,705 for illegally ending her tenure and keeping her security deposit.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims that she has not yet received a penny and is considering legal action.
She lived on the property for a year with her husband and two children, who were two and six years old at the time.
She said she felt he believed they would not fight the case since they were not local and that they may not have known their tenure rights. “He didn’t even bother to present himself to the RTB case,” he said.
“He tried to raise our rent after a year and when we fought, he told us he was putting the house up for sale and tried to kick us out.”
“The day we were leaving, he did not appear to collect the keys and refused to inspect the property while we were present. He then inspected it and said we caused € 2,000 worth of damage and said he would give this up if we did not receive our € 750 deposit back.
“My kids had painted something on the wall, but I repaired it by painting it before we moved in.”
The RTB deducted € 44 for attrition from the family award.
The successful businesswoman said she found it frustrating the way the damages were awarded, but they have not yet received any payments, as he continues to rent properties.
The Irish Independent contacted him for comment, but he did not respond.
Another private landlord who has had a lot of cases against him is Dublin landlord Paul Howard.
Howard has had 11 cases taken against him, with the RTB ruling in favor of tenants 11 times.
He was ordered to pay a total of € 28,807 in all cases after the RTB discovered that he had illegally evicted tenants, had breached his landlord duties and had unreasonably withheld deposits.
When asked to confirm whether he had paid the tenants the damages due, he replied, “My lawyer is negotiating with them.”
More than 155 owners have had five or more cases against them, according to an analysis of data on disputes filed with the RTB.
Housing charities have raised concerns about how some homeowners who repeatedly violate tenure laws may continue to rent properties.
However, some owners have successfully defended many of the cases brought against them, and the RTB decided largely in their favor.
Ireland’s largest private landlord, Ires Reit, which offers apartments for rent in the Dublin metropolitan area, has been involved in 150 cases between 2015 and 2019.
Reports are only available for 138 of these cases, for which Ires Reit has a 76pc win rate.
In two cases taken by Ires Reit, tenants were ordered to pay rent arrears between € 10,000 and € 25,000.
Some of the cases taken against the state’s largest institutional landlord were for invalid rent increases and invalid termination notices.
In 2018, 19 cases were taken against Ires Reit, who won seven of the cases, lost two, and 10 were dropped.
In 2016, 81 cases were filed against the company. Ires Ret won 20, lost 30 and 31 were retired.
In a statement, the company said there was a significant reduction in cases in 2018 and 2019 “reflecting the experience the company has accumulated in providing managed professional services to tenants.”
At the end of last year, Ires Reit owned 3,666 residential units, in 42 properties in Dublin and Cork. A company spokesperson said the number of RTB cases taken was “low” in this regard.
A large number of cases have also been brought against receivers who took over properties that were the subject of court rulings.
Some of the cases were appeals from tenants who had cases against them for rent arrears and breach of tenant obligations.
In 14 cases taken against catcher Luke Charleton of Ernst & Young, RTB found five times in favor of tenants and nine times in favor of receiver.
In 10 cases taken against Ken Fennell, who is a partner at Deloitte and has acted as a recipient of significant portfolios, only three were partially successful.
The RTB determined that the termination notices were invalid, but ordered the tenants to pay the outstanding rent arrears.
The housing charity Threshold said that one of the main problems their clients have is that, despite the fact that orders are made in their favor, it is extremely difficult to recover the money awarded.
Pursuant to the Residential Lease Act of 2004, RTB has the right to take legal action in cases where landlords or tenants do not comply with enforcement orders.
However, due to the timely and costly nature of these procedures, it is often a last resort that is rarely used.
An RTB spokesperson said it does not have the power to prevent property owners who repeatedly fail to comply with lease laws from renting properties in the future.
“While RTB takes informed breach of the terms of its determination orders very seriously, cases are handled on a case-by-case basis.
“The RTB has no powers to prevent either party from re-renting a property due to noncompliance with our orders.”
However, he said that RTB judges and court members can award damages against a part of the case for breach of their obligations under the Residential Leases Act.
“These damages, which are awarded to the other party to the case, can be up to € 20,000, depending on the severity of the crime.
“In addition, the work of the investigation and sanctions unit began on July 1, 2019.
“As of this date, the RTB can now investigate landlords for certain alleged violations of the lease legislation.”
“After an investigation, a decision maker can sanction a landlord found guilty of misconduct.
“A penalty can be a warning or it can be financial in nature, anything up to € 15,000. A financial penalty is paid to the Treasury.”
Despite the RTB having greater powers, housing legislation in Ireland has not been significantly updated since 1966.
The government passed an emergency law in March to prevent rent increases and evictions until the end of June.
There are now fears that tenants may face eviction after the coronavirus crisis due to rent arrears after this period ends.
Housing Charity Threshold has called for an extension of the moratorium on rent increases and evictions.
He said that if rent supplements were not provided quickly and efficiently, there was a real risk that rent arrears would accumulate and “the risk of becoming homeless becomes real once the emergency period ends.”
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