Residents of a housing estate in Co Wexford said they feel they have been caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to rules for residential tenancies.
36 households in the Hazelwood estate (there are just over 100 properties there) in Bridgetown received a notice of termination of tenancy from their landlord on Friday.
That means they do not benefit from the increased protections against eviction in the Residential Tenancies Act 2026 which comes into effect from today.
They will be looking for somewhere else to rent in the next three to six months and that new legislation also means their prospective landlords are no longer limited to increasing rents by 2% per year and can raise it to market value levels.
Ronan Kavanagh has been living in Hazelwood for 10 years and said he will struggle to find a place he can afford.
"I'm not going to be able to afford 1500 1600 quid a month," he said.
Anne Marie Lamb said moving will be very disruptive for her and her two children.
"One of them is in a school that has one of the best autism units this side of Wexford, and (they) have helped him so much with his additional needs, so he hasn't had to go into that unit.
"Now he is pulled out of that school and everything. He will regress in his education and regress in his ways," said Ms Lamb.
Isobel Doheny moved into the house in December and has been told she must quit by the end of May.
She claims she asked the landlord's agent if they were any plans to sell the house before she moved in.
Ms Donhey said: "I asked the question numerous times, I can't sign a lease, if I'm not sure whether you're going to sell or not.
"And basically, according to him, they're not going to sell. And if they are going to sell, it would be with live-in tenants."
Anna Barron is one of several tenants who claims the agent who delivered the notice told them the landlord would be able to offer them alternative accommodation to rent elsewhere in the county but at rents higher than they are paying now.
"He told me, not to worry, we are good tenants, and you have other houses in Wexford and Enniscorthy with high prices, of course," she said.
Department of Housing in contact with RTB
Minister for Housing James Browne represents the area.
His department issued a statement to RTÉ News saying that he has been in contact with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) this weekend and understands they are engaging with Wexford County Council to ensure the tenants’ rights are protected.
Local councillor Aoife Rose O’Brien of Sinn Féin has been working with the tenants.
At a meeting at a local community hall she helped people to open dispute cases with the RTB over the termination notice.
"At this moment in time, we believe that these notices are unlawful. So today, the primary objective was to register a dispute with the RTB for each individual household, and we're going to sit now and waiting to see what advice we get back from them."
She is hoping that the Tyrrelstown Amendment will apply in this case.
That section, which is also cited by the Department of Housing response to RTÉ News, provides that where a landlord proposes to sell 10 or more units within a single development at the same time that the sale is subject to the tenants remaining in place.
Ms O'Brien has also organised an open clinic with Wexford County Council for the tenants and says that will be helpful for those who are entitled to social housing but adds that many tenants in Hazelwood are not and she does not know what support will be available for them.
Those tenants who arrived more recently to Hazelwood have been told they must leave at the end of May.
Others have until the end of August.
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