Jim Gavin tenant row shows a generational divide

The substance of the allegations against Jim Gavin deserve scrutiny because this issue is familiar to so many people 

Jim Gavin withdrew from the race in extraordinary circumstances late on Sunday, doing so amid claims that he had not repaid €3,300 paid in error by a former tenant. Picture: PA

Jim Gavin’s presidential dreams were dashed this week, when it emerged that, as a landlord, he still owed a tenant €3,300, a debt that goes back 16 years.

More than 330,000 households across Ireland (more than one in five) are privately renting their homes, either formally or informally. And many more can still remember life as a tenant. As you can imagine, a generation of renters leads to a lot of landlord encounters, and not all of them are positive.