Tenants under threat of eviction after flats sale can stay

The owners of apartments at The Strand in Limerick have withdrawn notices to quit that were issued to existing tenants after an agreed sale to a vulture capital fund.

They were withdrawn following the intervention of Housing Minister Simon Coveney.

The owners said yesterday they are writing to residents affected by the recent termination notices to confirm the notices are being withdrawn and that they will abide by the spirit of the so-called Tyrrelstown amendment legislation, which comes into effect next week.

That amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act was brought through the Oireachtas in December as part of the Government’s rental strategy. It will ensure tenancies are protected where a landlord or investor wishes to sell more than 10 properties in a single development, as happened at Tyrrelstown, Dublin 15, last year.

The decision follows contact from Mr Coveney in which he asked that the spirit of the Tyrrelstown amendment would be respected to ensure that the existing tenancies are unaffected by transfer of ownership.

Sova Properties yesterday replied formally to the minister to confirm that it will respect the change and that it will write to tenants to confirm withdrawal of the original notices.

Mr Coveney said that it was “an important reassurance for households who had been facing significant uncertainty”.

“There was no legal requirement for Sova to take this approach so I commend them for doing what was the socially responsible thing, by respecting the will of the Government and the Oireachtas.”