Two tenants of a house in Kerry are to have almost €4,000 in rent repaid to them by their landlord, following an order by the Residential Tenancies Board.
The order was the outcome of an RTB tribunal, which heard a dispute between landlord Patricia McElligott and tenants Pawel Walanus and Justyna Swierkot.
Ms McElligott was ordered to repay the sum as she had implemented two invalid rent reviews in the space of 17 months, on the property at Dromin Green, Listowel.
The tribunal heard that Ms McElligott notified the two tenants their rent was increasing in August 2022, but this notice was served via the social media app Facebook Messenger, rather than the proper form.
Ms McElligott said she had never written letters to the tenants, and all communication had been by message.
She said she lived in the UK and was unaware of Irish legislation relating to residential lettings.
The rent increased at this point €700 to €725 per month.
Ms McElligott then served a second rent review 17 months later, which by law, was seven months too soon since the previous review.
The rent increased again to €1,075 at this stage.
Ms McElligott gave evidence to the tribunal that she was unaware of the two-year rule, and that she thought she had done things correctly.
She accepted she was at fault regarding the rent reviews, as she was unaware of the rules.
The landlord told the tribunal she granted the tenants one month’s rent free, each year, in return for maintaining the property, and she had foregone rent for some months during COVID.
The tenants argued that the rent-free period was not a goodwill gesture, but was in exchange for them to paint and look after the dwelling.
The RTB found that both rent reviews were invalid, and as a result the tenants had overpaid by €3,950, which the landlord was ordered to repay them.
