Courts / Wexford / Report
Landlord ordered to pay year's rent after WRC hears of 'egregious' harassment
Summary
The Workplace Relations Commission has ordered landlords Lisa and Michael Furlong to pay €12,000 in compensation to tenants Joselyn King and Piotr Pedzisz for discrimination on the housing assistance ground. The adjudicator found that the landlords' refusal to accept a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) was the initiating factor in a campaign of harassment described as "egregious." The tribunal heard evidence that after the tenants requested HAP in November 2020, they faced intimidation, including an agricultural trailer parked against their front door, sand placed in the driveway, and electricity cuts. On 27 October 2021, gardaí were called to remove masked men carrying large tools from the property in Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford. The adjudicator, Michael McEntee, noted that the Residential Tenancies Board had previously found that family members significantly interfered with the tenants' peaceful occupation. Although the landlords argued that HAP was irrelevant and that their actions were acceptable on their own property, the tribunal upheld the discrimination complaint. The €12,000 award, equivalent to approximately one year's rent, was deemed a sizeable sum reflecting the severity of the respondents' behavior. This decision follows a separate RTB determination that ordered Lisa Fanning to pay €1,741 for breaching the Residential Tenancies Act.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Landlord ordered to pay year's rent after WRC hears of 'egregious' harassment. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- 27 October 2021 Incident
- August 2020 Incident
- August 2021 Other
- April 2021 Hearing Or Sentence
- October 2021 Hearing Or Sentence
- January 2022 Hearing Or Sentence
- 7 September Other
- 2023-04-21 Publication
Why: " Mr McEntee wrote that he was making a "sizeable award" of €12,000 in the case, amounting to about a year's rent on the property, because "the evidence presented of respondent behaviours merit an award of this nature". CNI source report
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