Court throws out eviction case involving ‘antisocial’ tenants

A LOCAL authority may seek a judicial review after an eviction case sought after a flood of antisocial complaints was thrown out of court.

Cork City Council is examining several legal options following the decision.

The council applied to Cork District Court last Wednesday for an order for possession of a council house on the city’s northside.

The tenants of the house have been at the centre of several complaints of serious antisocial behaviour. One of the incidents resulted in a stabbing.

The council spent several months liaising with the tenants in an effort to resolve the issue.

Despite employing its extensive tenants’ dispute resolution mechanism, all attempts to resolve the situation failed.

The council then sought an order for possession — a move it described as the last resort — and built a case in order to prove a breach of its tenancy agreement.

But when council lawyers presented the case in the district court, a judge threw it out.

City officials and local representatives for the area said they were extremely disappointed with the decision.

Sinn Féin Cllr Jonathan O’Brien said he has lost faith in the system following the decision.

A council spokesperson said it was important that local authorities can avail of such proceedings to deal with such cases.

“Seeking an order for possession is a matter of last resort,” the spokesperson said.

She also said that if such an order is secured, tenants are not simply thrown out on the streets.

The HSE and other agencies are notified and emergency housing arrangements are made.

She said the situation is now being assessed and all legal options are being considered.