The High Court has ruled that Katherine J. O’Driscoll and Keith M. O’Reilly brought their appeal against a Residential Tenancies Board determination one day outside the statutory time limit. The court said it had no power to extend the 21-day period, so the appeal could not proceed to a hearing on its merits.
The preliminary hearing before Ms Justice Eileen Roberts concerned when time starts for an appeal under section 123 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, and what step counts as making that appeal. The judgment was delivered on 16 May 2025.
The RTB posted its determination order to the appellants on 13 June 2024. They received it the following day. The RTB later confirmed by affidavit that it had also sent the order by registered post to their landlord and her agent on 13 June.
The appellants stamped their originating notice of motion and grounding affidavit on 3 July. The High Court Central Office stamped them as filed on 4 July. They argued that the appeal was within time, including that the period should run from receipt and that the appeal had been issued on 3 July.
Justice Roberts held that “issued” means posted or otherwise sent, rather than received. She said the relevant period runs from the date the order is sent to the parties. Because the order went to all parties on 13 June, the 21-day period began that day and expired on 3 July.
The judge also held that an appeal is made when the notice of motion is filed in the Central Office. Swearing, dating or stamping the documents earlier did not commence the appeal. As filing occurred on 4 July, the appeal was out of time.
The court said that if an order is sent to parties on different dates in a future case, time should be counted from the latest date on which any party was sent the order. It also said the RTB should, on request from a party intending to appeal, confirm whether all parties were sent the order on the same date.
Justice Roberts concluded that the appeal must fail and that the court had no jurisdiction to extend the deadline. She listed the matter for mention on 22 May at 10.30am to hear submissions on legal costs and make final orders. The judgment does not record those final orders.