Courts / Dublin / Report
5,000 applicants to rent rooms in one Dublin property last year, WRC told
Summary
In 2023 the Workplace Relations Commission heard that 5,000 people applied to rent rooms in a single house‑share in north County Dublin when it was listed last year. An estate agent, Stephen McKinnney of 1st Class Lettings and Property Management Ltd, was told to pay €1,800 compensation to Karen Duffy after he withdrew an offer to let her a studio flat in Swords because she was receiving the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). McKinnney said he was looking for "professional men" and that HAP tenants were not always unemployed, claiming the landlord could not sign the necessary forms. Duffy said she had repeatedly stated she was a HAP claimant in all her applications and that she had been denied viewings. The adjudicator, Penelope McGrath, found McKinnney had discriminated against Duffy on the basis of HAP, awarded her €1,800 and upheld her complaint. The case remains at the WRC hearing stage.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: 5,000 applicants to rent rooms in one Dublin property last year, WRC told. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- 30 May 2022 Hearing Or Sentence
- 24 April Hearing Or Sentence
- May 2022 Other
- June 1, 2022 Other
- 2023-06-27 Publication
Why: "No-one would even give me a viewing," she said, adding that the advice she got from Citizen's Information and Threshold was not to mention it "because so many landlords discriminate against HAP tenants". CNI source report
Places mentioned
Topics
Related court reports
- Stardust survivor left 'aghast' at government redress scheme
- Bulgarian national stole €11k from heavily pregnant woman just one week after arrival in Ireland
- 'Far from peripheral' - Regency getaway drivers fail to have sentences reduced
- Hapless robber dropped phone, cash at raid scenes
- Regency getaway drivers say prison sentences were too high
- Dealer who told mother he'd get 'junkies' to rape her son over drug debt gets 10 years
If a fact, identity, locality or legal outcome needs review, email the newsroom with this report's details prefilled.
Email a correction request