A landlord who "decided not to accept the HAP scheme" and evicted her tenant into homelessness has been ordered to pay him €3,000 in compensation.
The Workplace Relations Commission made the order against Margaret Goulding on foot of a complaint under the Equal Status Act 2000 by her former tenant, Victor Onukwili.
Mr Onukwili said he agreed a licensee agreement with Ms Goulding on 27 August last year, which was to run until 28 February this year and be extended on a "rollover" basis as long as there were no issues with his tenancy.
Alex O'Conor of housing charity Threshold, who appeared for the complainant at a hearing in August, said that on 23 September 2022, just over three weeks after Mr Onukwili tried to set up a HAP payment for his landlord, he was handed an eviction notice.
He stayed on for the next five weeks, using his deposit as rent for October 2022, the WRC was told.
After that Mr Onukwili told the tribunal he was left homeless, and spent nine months living in a shelter in Swords until he found somewhere else to rent earlier this summer.
Mr O’Conor said his client approached Ms Goulding on 1 September 2022 to tell her South Dublin County Council’s HAP section "might be in touch".
At this point Ms Goulding said that she went to the Citizen’s Information Service and was advised that she could accept HAP "under certain circumstances" – but that she "decided it wasn’t feasible".
Mr O’Conor told the court he engaged with Ms Goulding and had his client serve her with the Equal Status Act notification and response forms, but that it "became clear that she would not accept the HAP".
Ms Goulding said the flat was being rented out under the "Revenue-approved room to rent scheme" and was "part of her house" – arguing that despite the presence of a separate entrance at the back of the property, there was also a communicating door with the hall of the main house.
She said the flat had previously been inhabited by her mother and that her children would also stay there on their visits.
The apartment shared its electricity, water and internet connections with the main house and her tenant also used her bins, she said.
The landlord said Mr Onukwili "didn’t mention the HAP" when he came to view the property and that if he had she would have told him the property was not "eligible".
Ms Goulding said she "could not provide proof" of ownership as required by the HAP scheme because the house belonged to her husband.
She said she was also concerned that the apartment "would not meet the standards of accommodation".
Ms Goulding said she had been told by the Residential Tenancies Board that the apartment "didn’t qualify" and produced a copy of an email from the RTB stating: "This dispute has been closed now."
However, WRC adjudicator Catherine Byrne noted in her decision on Mr Onukwili's complaint that Ms Goulding had provided "no documents" which set out the background to the RTB’s finding.
Ms Byrne said her view was that studio apartment described in evidence to the WRC by the landlord "fits the definition of 'a separate and self-contained part’ of her house", and was not exempt from qualification for the housing assistance payment.
"None of the rooms which comprised a kitchen/living room, bedroom and bathroom were shared and for Mr Onukwili to communicate with Ms Goulding, he was required to knock on an adjoining door," Ms Byrne wrote.
"I can make no comment about the eligibility of the apartment for tax relief under the rent a room scheme; however, it is my understanding that accommodation offered under the rent a room scheme may be rented to tenants in receipt of the HAP," she added.
The adjudicator went on to note that as Ms Goulding had stated nothing to the complainant about any question of ownership over the property, Mr Onukwili had been "entitled to assume she has the status of a landlord".
"She must accept the legal responsibilities that apply to that role," Ms Byrne added.
Ms Byrne found that Mr Onukwili "was discriminated against on the housing assistance ground" and ordered Ms Goulding to pay him compensation of €3,000.
The sum amounts to three months’ rent on the property, or one-fifth of the maximum jurisdiction of €15,000 for an award under the Equal Status Act.
