The Workplace Relations Commission awarded Amy Louise Finnegan €3,000 after finding she was discriminated against when seeking to rent accommodation. The decision, dated 3 August 2022, found that the tenancy terms were fundamentally and unreasonably altered after she raised the possibility of applying for Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).
Finnegan said she had paid the first month’s rent and a deposit, received keys and was told the rent would rise if she applied for HAP. She declined, and the agreement was rescinded. The landlord, Moire Needham, said the tenancy had not been finalised and that concerns about the property’s condition led her to stop it.
The officer found the primary tenancy terms had been agreed and that the terms changed unreasonably after the HAP enquiry. Needham did not rebut the inference of discrimination, and the complaint was found well founded. The Commission ordered €3,000 in compensation for the effects of the prohibited conduct.