The High Court refused an application to make a tenant pay €45,000 in rent arrears while her appeal was pending, but ordered her to preserve up to €48,750 from an inheritance until the appeal is determined or the arrears are paid and she leaves the property.
Ms Justice Niamh Hyland delivered the ex tempore judgment on 27 July 2022. The case concerned a tenancy at 8 Shelbourne Road, Dublin 4, where the tenant had agreed to pay €3,250 a month under a 12-month tenancy beginning on 5 October 2020. She acknowledged not paying rent since March 2021.
A Residential Tenancies Board adjudicator upheld the landlord’s termination notice, found the tenant was overholding, and awarded her €1,500 for a breach of landlord obligations. On appeal, a Tenancy Tribunal upheld the termination notice, found the landlord owed the tenant €1,709, and directed the tenant to pay €25,359.50 in arrears, with further monthly rent due while she remained in the dwelling.
The tenant’s High Court appeal challenged the termination notice and the damages award. It did not challenge the finding that she owed rent or her continuing obligation to pay it. Her lawyers appeared for the motions but said they had no instructions and made no submissions on her behalf.
The Residential Tenancies Board sought an order requiring payment of €45,000 in arrears. The judge refused. Because the Tribunal’s determination included an order for payment and an appeal had been lodged, section 123 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 meant the determination was not yet binding. Ordering payment of the same arrears would circumvent that statutory stay. The Board’s request for an order to keep paying monthly rent was also refused as unnecessary: the tenancy obligation continued under section 86 despite the dispute. The Board did not pursue its request to strike out the appeal for non-payment.
The landlord separately sought to preserve money the tenant might receive from her mother’s estate. The judge said the tenant would owe a significant sum when the appeal concluded, while the precise inheritance amount was not yet known. The estate had not been distributed, though the house was sale agreed. Based on the tenant’s failure to pay rent, her remaining in the property and her refusal to undertake to preserve any inheritance, the judge found a real concern that funds might not be available to meet the debt. She granted an amended preservation order, restraining the tenant and anyone acting for her from dissipating inheritance funds up to €48,750. The order lasts until the appeal is determined or until the arrears are fully paid and the tenant gives up possession of the property.