A group of Brazilians living in Dublin received an eviction order this weekend, despite the government decree that prevents the expulsion of tenants during the coronavirus crisis.
The group of four students shared a two-bedroom apartment in Blackrock, a suburb of Dublin. In the middle of the month, residents received a notice asking them to vacate the property by the end of the month, as the rent had not been paid in full.
According to the Irish Times, there were seven residents in the apartment – three in one room and four in the other. However, three of them left during the pandemic, leaving the other four responsible for paying the entire rent.
Brazilian Carine Queiroz, one of the residents, said that “when she moved into the house, nobody told her that it was a rental of the entire property”, she would only pay for her room. However, it seems that the agreement was not fulfilled by the agency. Carine said she tried to contact the company, but has yet to receive a response. She moved into the apartment in March, after losing her job as an au-pair due to quarantine. She currently works at Centra, a supermarket chain in Ireland, and pays the rent for another resident, who signed the contract with the agency.
In messages sent by GL Accommodation, the agency says that the amount due to the residents who left would be deducted from the deposit, so that students would not have to bear the costs. The owner of the apartment would have refused to decrease the rent.
The government decree banning evictions and rent increases has been extended until July 20, so that “people can stay in their homes during the emergency period,” said a spokesman for the Housing Department.
People with difficulty communicating with property owners can contact the RTB (Residential Tenancies Board) or Threshold, bodies dedicated to defending tenants’ rights and resolving rental disputes.
