The WRC found that a rental applicant’s Equal Status complaint against a property letting company was outside its jurisdiction because she sought an extension to the notice deadline too late. The complaint was not upheld and the merits were not decided. Adjudication Officer Pat Brady dated the decision 27 July 2017.
The complaint followed a family’s search for a rental home. The applicant said the tenancy fell through when the landlord would not accept a family member who received social welfare payments. She also said she delayed sending notice because she feared retaliation by the letting agent.
The company argued that written notice was due within two months of the incident and that the request to extend the deadline was late. The officer found the applicant sought an extension nearly six months after the incident. The law allowed the deadline to be extended to four months in exceptional circumstances, but the request came after that period. The complaint could not proceed, and whether discrimination occurred was not decided.