Davy Fitzgerald’s sister loses appeal over house tenancy

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Helen Fitzgerald’s appeal over whether she had a tenancy of her brother’s house was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 2 February 2024. The property is in Sixmilebridge, Clare.

The appeal arose from repossession proceedings brought by Pepper Finance Ireland DAC and a receiver, who sought an order allowing the house to be sold to recover money owed. Helen Fitzgerald argued that repossession should wait until the Residential Tenancies Board determined her tenancy claim; Pepper disputed that she was a tenant.

The Court of Appeal said the High Court could decide whether a valid tenancy existed and the RTB could not determine that question exclusively. Mr Justice Brian O’Moore noted that Helen Fitzgerald had accepted before the appeal court that the High Court had jurisdiction to decide whether she was entitled to occupy the property as a tenant and that the RTB could not itself determine whether a tenancy existed.

The judge dismissed the appeal, describing it as without merit. His provisional view was that Pepper and the receiver were entitled to their costs.