The Workplace Relations Commission ordered landlord Margaret Goulding to pay Victor Onukwili €3,000 after finding she discriminated against him on the housing assistance ground. The decision was dated 5 September 2023.
Onukwili said Goulding would not accept Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) towards the rent and gave him notice to leave the studio apartment. Goulding said the apartment was part of her home and that she could not provide proof of ownership because the house belonged to her husband.
The adjudication officer found the apartment was a separate, self-contained part of the house, and that providing it did not affect Goulding’s family’s private life. The officer said the short-term licence agreement and the ownership argument did not affect Onukwili’s entitlement to avail of HAP to rent the apartment. The €3,000 award was equivalent to three months’ rent.