A tenant was forced to sleep rough in a park after her landlord unlawfully changed the locks to the property, part of a pattern of behaviour described as “sustained and egregious” by a Residential Tenancies Board tribunal.
Afrim Hoxha, landlord of the property at Fortlawn Drive, Dublin 15, must pay a total of €34,800 to three former tenants after the tribunal found he breached various statutory obligations. The tribunal heard evidence in the case across three days in May.
Josephine Aniagye, who moved into the property in November 2023, told the tribunal she was forced to sleep in a park after the landlord changed the locks to the premises in April.
The tribunal accepted Ms Aniagye’s testimony, describing her experience as “profoundly distressing”, and noted that it “heightened her sense of vulnerability and insecurity in her own home”.
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The landlord changed the locks to the property during the course of the RTB tribunal proceedings in a “particularly egregious” action, the tribunal noted.
Over the course of her tenancy, Ms Aniagye said the landlord persistently entered the property unannounced, failed to facilitate rent-payment arrangements and failed to maintain basic utilities.
She said the landlord’s conduct caused her psychological distress and resulted in her missing two weeks of work.
During the tribunal hearing the landlord denied many of the allegations made against him, including that he changed the locks on the property. He blamed the lock-change on another tenant.
The tribunal said the landlord’s conduct was aggravated by repeated attempts to discredit Ms Aniagye’s evidence and justify his actions “on spurious grounds”.
The tribunal awarded €17,000 in damages to Ms Aniagye arising from the landlord’s various breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act.
This Act entitles tenants to enjoy peaceful and exclusive occupation of their rented properties.
The award reflected “the cumulative impact of the landlord’s sustained and egregious conduct, encompassing the prolonged period of interference, the calculated attempts to intimidate the tenant and the profound disruption to her peaceful occupation and emotional wellbeing”, the tribunal found.
Boitshwarelo Mosotho was also locked out of the property following the lock changes in April, the tribunal heard. She said she was provided access to retrieve her belongings, but has not been permitted to return to reside at the property.
She said she was forced to stay with friends after being locked out, and suffered significant disruption to her daily life and work. She said her health was negatively impacted and her work performance dipped due to the instability brought on by her landlord’s actions.
Ms Mosotho also made similar allegations to Ms Aniagyei, stating the landlord repeatedly entered the premises without notice and disconnected utilities from the property.
The tribunal said it regarded Ms Mosotho’s reporting of emotional distress and inconvenience as credible.
The tribunal awarded €15,000 to Ms Mosotho. It said it was a proportionate award, given “the severity of the landlord’s conduct and the distress, anxiety and disruption caused to the tenant’s peaceful occupation”.
Another tenant, Esther García Pérez, alleged that the landlord engaged in inappropriate behaviour, including sexual harassment.
She alleged that he repeatedly attempted to enter her bedroom, but prevented him from doing so by locking the door.
Ms García Pérez ultimately left the premises in April 2024, saying she felt unsafe.
In total, the tribunal ordered Ms García Pérez be compensated €2,000.
The landlord served notices of termination on the tenants in December 2023, but they were found to be invalid. The tribunal found the landlord had no intention to sell the property, but rather used the notices as a mechanism to remove tenants “deemed troublesome”.
Subsequent notices of termination were also found to be invalid.
During the tribunal hearing, a man identified as John Hoxha made submissions on behalf of the landlord of the Fortlawn Drive property, Afrim Hoxha. Tenants gave evidence of entering into a rental agreement with an individual named John.
In its findings, the tribunal criticised the landlord’s pattern of inconsistent and contradictory behaviour, “intended to confuse and mislead” the tenants as to the landlord’s real identity.
