Amy was terrified when she received a Notice of Termination (NoT) for her home in Wexford. Her
landlord said they wanted to move back in. She had lived in her home for four years and had
started her young family there. She and her two-year-old little girl were very much part of the
community. Her daughter was enrolled in the creche for the neighbourhood, and she was good
friends with all her neighbours.
Amy had worked in a charity as a case worker supporting people experiencing homelessness. She
knew from her everyday work how difficult it would be to find a new home. She worked hard to find
a new home for her family, saying:
“I think when you become a mother, you become really brave. I was knocking on doors, telling everyone. I was asking everyone if they knew of accommodation. I even shared it on my Facebook page, which I didn’t want to do because I didn’t want everyone to know my business. Finally, I found my current home through a friend who had been living here.”
She remained close with her previous neighbours and took her daughter to the same creche in her
previous estate every day. It was through these connections she learned that the previous landlord
had not moved back in: “A couple of neighbours rang me to let me know that the landlord was
doing the place up to let it. One neighbour was doing work inside the house when it was being
shown to prospective tenants. Then I went on Daft , and there it was.”
Not only was the ad up, but the rent advertised was 21% higher than what Amy had been paying.
The house was in a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ), and therefore the increase was well over the 2% cap
allowed every 12 months.
When Amy drove by each day to drop her daughter off at creche, she never saw the landlord’s car.
When chatting with her previous neighbours, they would comment that the landlord hadn’t been
at the house. When Amy had to collect some post from her previous home, a stranger answered the
door. Amy asked for her landlord but was told the landlord was out.
Amy was upset, thinking about the stress she went through trying to find a new home for her family.
She debated whether or not to submit a case to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) on the
matter, but in the end decided to do so. She submitted her case herself, as she had worked in the
sector and was familiar with the procedures.
Then Amy received the evidence submitted by the landlord. That was when Amy decided to turn
to Threshold for help, despite previously feeling confident about her case: “[I decided to go to
Threshold] when I received the information that was submitted by the landlord. It did frighten me. It
was derogatory towards me. It made me question, ‘Am I a bad person? Should I not be doing this?’
But I knew that was the landlord’s intention when they submitted that. I knew what they did was
wrong, but I didn’t want to go in on my own. I just needed a bit of extra support.”
Amy rang Threshold and got through to advisor Rory. He was able to help by pointing out the
evidence that was critical to winning the case and by agreeing to represent her at the hearing. She
felt better about the case but still felt stressed in the lead up to the hearing.
Discussing the hearing itself, Amy said, “I was very nervous. The adjudicator was nice, but it was all
very formal.”
“The landlord didn’t come to the hearing. The landlord’s representative was a ‘colleague’ who
told their side of the story. That’s what hurt me the most – the stuff that was said about me.
He continued to just badmouth me throughout the whole hearing. I knew I had to be careful
throughout the process of giving my evidence. And I’m not that sort of person to be vindictive. I
stayed very composed and just answered what was asked.”
Amy expressed her gratitude to Rory for being by her side throughout: “Having Rory there was
helpful. He was concise and to the point. He highlighted the evidence that helped me win the case. I
was glad to have him there.”
A few weeks after the hearing, Amy received the decision of the Adjudicator – they found in her
favour and ordered the landlord to pay over €2,000 in damages to Amy
On the decision, Amy said, “It was very validating. To be honest, I wasn’t doing this for financial gain. I had to take out a couple of loans to move into the new house, buy furniture and deposit, but I didn’t have a number in mind. And I just wanted to prove a point to the landlord. No money could make up for the fear I felt at the thought of my two-year-old and I would be homeless. I did it for my daughter. The landlord didn’t care where we were going to go – didn’t care if we were going to be homeless.”
After having to leave her home and attend a stressful RTB hearing, Amy was still shocked that she
had been put in that situation: “I was a good tenant. I work in a good job. And then I found myself in
my previous clients’ shoes, potentially facing homelessness. It highlights the current crisis we’re in.
If I can just help one tenant who has been wronged to speak out, encourage them to get help, it’ll
be worth it.”
