The Workplace Relations Commission found that landlord Alison Murray discriminated against tenant John Peters by refusing to consider his Housing Assistance Payment application, and awarded him €600. The decision was dated 27 June 2024.
Peters had lost his job and fallen into rent arrears before applying for HAP in December 2022. The adjudication officer found that the application affected the timing of a formal eviction notice, but that Murray had already wanted him to leave and would have evicted him regardless. The officer found no rent loss from the refusal to engage with HAP; the application may only have brought the eviction date forward slightly. Under the Equal Status Act, compensation can be ordered for the effects of prohibited conduct.