Tenant awarded €23,000 after landlord discrimination
A tenant received 23,000 euros from Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission after his landlords refused to process his housing assistance application and later evicted him. William Gallagher qualified for the Housing Assistance Payment program through Kildare County Council, but needed his landlords, Jenny Brennan and Matthew Hannigan, to complete the required paperwork. The pair declined to sign forms for more than a year despite multiple requests.
Adjudication officer Christina Ryan found that the landlords discriminated against Gallagher on the basis of his social welfare status under the Equal Status Act. The commission also found victimization occurred after the landlords served an eviction notice and blamed their tenant for causing them stress following his initial complaint. Ryan called the discrimination serious and awarded Gallagher 15,000 euros for discrimination and 8,000 euros for victimization.
Chief Commissioner Liam Herrick said the ruling clarifies that landlords must complete housing assistance forms when tenants request them. He emphasized that qualifying for assistance should never trigger discrimination and urged tenants to understand their legal protections.
