The High Court has refused a couple’s application for injunctions over three buy-to-let properties, finding that the balance of justice favoured maintaining the enforcement position that existed when their proceedings began in March 2024.
Ms Justice Nessa Cahill’s ruling concerns Apartment 14, Inver Gael, County Roscommon; 111 Celtic Park Avenue, Dublin 9; and 16 Lennox Street, Dublin 8. The couple had sought orders to prevent possession and rent collection, and to restrain the receiver from taking further steps.
The judge found that only one of five claims raised a serious issue to be tried: the couple’s challenge to the transfer of their loans from Allied Irish Banks to Everyday Finance DAC, which trades as Link Financial. She said the transfer deed contained apparent drafting and documentation issues, including unclear references to schedules and uncertainty about which AIB entity had lent or held the mortgages. The claim only narrowly met the low threshold for a serious issue, she said. The court did not decide whether the transfer was valid.
The judge found that the couple’s claims concerning an alleged failure to review interest-only mortgage terms and alleged tracker rates did not meet that threshold for the injunction application, given the apparent limitation-period obstacle. Their claims that the receiver’s appointment was invalid and that the Inver Gael sale was unlawful also did not meet it. Those were preliminary assessments for this motion, not final determinations of the underlying proceedings.
Inver Gael had been sold in March 2024, and Everyday held net proceeds of €173,078.52. The receiver had taken possession of Lennox Street and collected its rent. The couple remained in control of Celtic Park, where no receiver had been appointed. The judge said the dispute was financial in nature and there was no evidence of imminent sale plans or specific non-financial harm. She also considered the couple’s delay in bringing proceedings and the tentative view that their loan-transfer case was weak.
The court refused the requested injunctions and did not order the return of Lennox Street to the couple. It directed the defendants to keep Lennox Street rents in escrow and preserve the Inver Gael sale proceeds. Rent from Celtic Park must also be kept in escrow, whether collected by the couple or the defendants. If Lennox Street or Celtic Park is sold, the sale proceeds must be preserved pending determination of the proceedings or further order.
The judge’s provisional view was that the couple should pay the motion’s costs, subject to any further submissions. The judgment gave the parties until 28 November 2024 to file written submissions on costs, with a hearing listed for 5 December if needed.