Couple were expecting baby when fighting to get overpaid rent back from Jim Gavin

Jim Gavin withdrew from the presidential race on Sunday night. Picture: Conor O'Mearain/PA Wire

The tenants who claim they are owed overpaid rent by former presidential hopeful Jim Gavin were expecting their first baby when they were fighting to get their money back. 

The couple, who had been renting the apartment in Smithfield in Dublin, sought to have more than €3,000 returned to them after it was paid in error to Mr Gavin, the landlord of the property. 

They emailed, phoned, and sent legal letters to Mr Gavin, seeking to get the money back, but it was never repaid.

Mr Gavin withdrew from the presidential race on Sunday night after the issue came to light. 

The couple had given notice to the former Dublin GAA manager and vacated the property before realising the rent continued to go into Mr Gavin’s account in error via monthly electronic transfers.

At the time, the mother-to-be was near her due date when the overpaid rent of €3,300 came to light. 

The overpayment of rent occurred over a six-month period beginning in June 2009 to November that year.

The couple contacted the Private Residential Tenancies Board — now the RTB — but learned that Mr Gavin was not registered as a landlord and the body could not intervene at the time.

The couple then sought legal advice, and personally delivered legal letters to his property.

When Mr Gavin learned about the letters, the tenants claim he contacted one of them, and following an argument on the phone, promised to pay the money back.

Speaking during RTÉ's live Presidential Election debate on Sunday, Mr Gavin said: "That matter was over 16 years ago. It was a very stressful time for myself and my family.

"Like a lot of families and couples, we came into financial difficulty at that time."

Mr Gavin said: "If it happened, I'm very sorry that it happened. I’m looking into it, and I will deal with it with urgency."

Speaking after the debate, Mr Gavin said he is still "gathering the data" on the incident, saying it was "part of my life that I left behind".

The Fianna Fáil candidate said his family only own one property now, which is their home.

He said that he did not register the rented property at the time and that "it was a new law at the time" and "the majority of people didn't register [properties] at the time".

He said he has declared all his income.

The tenant has told the Irish Examiner he "just wants his money back" and that he had "asked for it so many times that I had to move on as we were having a baby at the time".