Revisiting Tyrrelstown

at

From top: An eviction letter to a tenant of Robin Hill, and another outlining how existing tenants will have to pay a deposit and new bi-monthly energy bills; Minister for Housing Simon Coveney

You may recall a post from last week about the Robin Hill apartment complex in Sandyford, Dublin 4 which went up for sale last week, after it went into Nama and was subsequently sold to Cerberus.

The post detailed claims made in the Dáil by People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Richard Boyd-Barrett.

The TD said five of Robin Hill’s tenants are now facing eviction and also said those who were not being evicted straight away were told they must pay an additional €250 per month in heating and hot water charges which were not previously included in the rent.

Mr Boyd-Barrett subsequently spoke about Robin Hill and the Tyrrelstown amendment to Seán O’Rourke on RTE Radio One.

This amendment was added to the Planning and Developlemt (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016 before Christmas.

It had originally proposed that where a landlord proposes to sell 20 or more units in a development – within six months – the sales would be conditional on existing tenants being able to remain in the property unless there were exceptional circumstances. This figure was later reduced to five and then increased to 10.

Mr Boyd-Barrett told Mr O’Rourke:

The vulture fund or landlord can evict nine people and then six months later, by the way, the legislation will allow them to evict another nine people. And six months after that, another nine people.”

Further this this.

This afternoon.

Eleanor Burnhill, on RTÉ’s News At One, reported on eviction notices that some of the residents of Robin Hill have received from an agent acting on behalf of Grant Thornton.

They have until June 25 to vacate Robin Hill.

Ms Burnhill reported that she obtained a statement from the Minister for Housing Simon Coveney about the matter.

“He says he is aware of the Robin Hill case. The statement says the Minister has indicated that if there is evidence that legislation is being circumvented, by companies selling off units in batches of less than 10, he will revisit this area generally.

“The officials on behalf of the minister are attempting to make contact with Cerberus to discuss the issue as soon as possible.

“And in relation to the area of hot water charges that you heard in that report, he says that if there a suggestion that new charges not previously covered by the existing tenancy agreement, if they’re being introduced, then the tenants have it open to appeal to the Residential Tenancies Board, as they have done.

Listen back to Ms Burnhill’s report in full here

Previously: ‘The Minister Did Not Contact Me’

Pics: Eleanor Burnhill/Rollingnews

Sponsored Link

23 thoughts on “Revisiting Tyrrelstown

  1. Ultan

    “attempting to make contact with Cerberus” – why don’t they just get their number off baldy Noonan?

    1. Con

      Baldy Noonan might be one of the owners. He has been on very good terms with Cerberus. As for Grant Thornton – they are no different to the agents who evicted tenants on behalf of absentee landlords in the late 19th century. Low life scum

  2. Anomanomanom

    So I cant see the problem, really what is. Is it not legal to legally terminate a lease or to ask someone to pay for heating/electric. The deposit is also common practice, I had to pay the ESB €600 deposit before they would connect me.

    1. Yeah, Ok

      That heating bill is a despicable dirty trick, and I suspect scummy behaviour like that was conveniently not accounted for in the rental legislation. I hope someone burns the place down when the tenants are all evicted. How would that be for heating, you pr1cks.

      1. Rob_G

        “And in relation to the area of hot water charges… if there a suggestion that new charges not previously covered by the existing tenancy agreement… the tenants have it open to appeal to the Residential Tenancies Board, as they have done.”

        – there you go

  3. scottser

    that notice to quit from chartered assets doesn’t look valid. any notice where the landlord intends to sell is supposed to be accompanied by a statutory declaration stamped by a notary or commissioner for oaths. from CI:

    If the property is being sold

    If the landlord intends to sell the property within 3 months of the termination of your tenancy, the notice of termination must state that “The reason for the termination of the tenancy is due to the fact that the landlord intends to sell the dwelling, for full consideration, within 3 months after the termination of the tenancy”. The notice must also include a statutory declaration stating the landlord’s intention to sell.

    If the landlord is availing of the exception to the ‘Tyrrelstown’ amendment (see above) in order to terminate the Part 4 tenancy, the statutory declaration must also state that that the market value with a sitting tenant is over 20% below the market value with vacant possession, and that preventing him from terminating the tenancy would be unduly onerous on him or would cause him undue hardship.

    The RTB’s sample notice of termination due to intention to sell (pdf) contains the required information and a sample statutory declaration.

  4. Con

    Michael Noonan has to one of the worst politicians ever in Irish politics… or the smartest. This man has sold off our country to vulture funds – Cerberus seems to be a firm favourite of his. Could it have anything to do with his (at least) two trips to the secretive Bilderberg Group get-togethers? Who did Noonan meet there? What deals did he do in secret meetings behind closed doors? Certainly our supposed Minister of finance has not acted in the best interests of the Irish people since his trips to Bilderberg. Is he acting in the interests of others? And if so why? What’s in for you Mr Noonan? We would like to know.

    1. Junkface

      More like Irelands most unpatriotic politician ever! He’d sell his Ma’s rocking chair from under her if he could.

      Expect A LOT more of these notices for evictions over the next few years from Vulture funds. Thats what you get for being Irish, a slap in the face and a kick up the ar5e

    2. Percival

      Simon Coveney went to one of those Bilderberg meetings and was appointed Irish Minister for Defence within weeks, while still holding the Agriculture Ministry which is highly unusual.

      The reason of course, is NATO. And hey Presto, not long after Coveney was Min for Defence, he publishes a white paper proposing increased military spending and the purchasing of NATO compatible armory and munitions.

      His mission is trick the Irish into joining NATO and fear will be used to do it.

      Irish journalists know all of this but the only place you’ll read about it is in The Phoenix.

  5. Anne

    If the legislation that was drawn up allowed for vulture funds to evict people in batches up to 9, and 6 months later the legislation allows for them to do the same again, and again, etc. then how exactly are the vultures circumventing the legislation?

    It’s a bit disingenuous to pretend the legislation intended something else, when a 6 month time frame was purposely written into the legislation.
    Is Simon Coveney saying he’s legislation was inefficient? Are they admitting incompetence here?

  6. Grace

    My apt complex recently changed heating/hot water suppliers too- we got several sinister letters demanding a 250 deposit payable within a two week time frame to avoid our service being interrupted. From a quick google search this seems to be common practise in apt complexes around town now. Total scummy behaviour- renters are not usually in the lucky position of having spare cash lying around for this kind of thing.

  7. gringo

    Conveney will soon be da boss, so suck it up ,suckers.Everything is going to get worse for the citizen.We are headed for an extreme right wing dictatorship.

  8. Painkiller

    “We are not a landlord’s party”

    March 2014: Mr Kenny told a business gathering that “if you had 30,000 three-bedroom detached houses in Dublin you’d sell them all in a week. That’s the pent-up demand that’s there”.
    http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/taoiseach-s-property-claims-were-exaggerated-say-experts-1.1731388

    FG invited the vulture funds and while that has taken people out of negative equity, it will either institute the current housing affordability problem (a new class of of lifelong renters with the rights of second class citizens) or be a driving force for the next collapse.

    1. anne

      Lifelong renters I’d say..and extreme impoverishment for the elderly who didnt get on the property ladder & clear off a mortgage eventually..it’d be difficult to afford sky high rents on an old age pension.

      The social welfare system will have to step in again funded by regular paye workers.. who are really propping up the wealthy in the first place.

  9. GiggidyGoo

    If legislation is being circumvented? It’s not. It’s exactly what the Landlord Party and Ceberus Lovers wanted to achieve, but make it look like they were doing something constructive. Six months, or less, after everything Noonan and his Fianna Gael surfers have their paws in, beds in, the problems appear. There’s enough of a period of time for their friends to make massive profits until the “loopholes” are closed.

  10. Weldoninhio

    One of the renters in Robin Hill was quoted as saying that if they wanted to find somewhere similar in the area, then they have to pay an increase of 70-80% in rent. So they are obviously paying well below market rate. Business is business, and if Cerberus can get those paying so little out and move people in paying the market rate then it would be remiss of them not to.

    I’m not sure if Cerberus has shareholders, but if it does it has a fiduciary duty to make as much money for them as possible.

    1. anne

      Just yuck. The roofs over peoples heads shouldn’t be handed over at massive discounts funded by the irish tax payer, to enable maximum profit for share holders.

      We’re not talking commodities..we’re talking about homes.

      Remiss my hoop.. Baldy Noonan has invited these vultures here to make money off the backs of people’s misery.

      It’s remiss of our government to throw people to the wolves in this way.

Comments are closed.

Sponsored Link
Broadsheet.ie