Kildare landlord denies wrongfully withholding tenant’s security deposit

A KILDARE landlord denied wrongfully withholding a tenant’s security deposit and said he had no knowledge of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) case that was brought against him.

The case involves a couple who had a short-term lease at a one-bedroom apartment at 4 Duff Terrace, Brownstown Lower, The Curragh from landlord John O’Connor, from March to August of 2024.

The tenants allege that their €1,500 security deposit was unfairly withheld by the landlord and attempted to seek reparations from the RTB on the matter.

While the RTB initially found in the tenant’s favour, this decision was set aside due to the RTB’s inability to serve notice of the case to Mr O’Connor, as they could not find his address.

Mr O’Connor said he was never made aware of the RTB case and was not contacted on the matter.

He says the deposit was withheld because of wear and tear.

The Curragh couple want to share their story with people in Kildare as a warning to renters.

“We’ll be fine,” said Amelia, who now lives in the US and wished to be identified only by her first name. “But there are families, students, immigrants, people who can’t afford to lose that kind of money being taken in by this man.”

In response to this, Mr O’Connor said: “I’ll be honest, we’re having problems ourselves at the moment.”

He then alleged that two current tenants of his owe him over €40,000, who are “nine and ten months without paying any rent.”

“I’m thinking of getting out of this job,” he said.

Mr O’Connor said he is fed up with working in the rental sector and being labelled the “bad guy”.

He added: “We’re the bad guys. We’re housing everybody and it’s ridiculous at this stage.

“Everybody’s looking for free houses. They’ll pay the first month and after, they don’t want to pay.

“If you go into a B&B or a hotel and you don’t pay for a night, the guards will be getting called for you.

“I think about getting rid of this job because it’s, especially with these new laws and things, it’s not really worth the hassle.”

The tenants

Amelia and her partner moved to Kildare from Galway when Amelia was offered a short-term job position and they decided to take the opportunity with both hands. The couple stayed at the property four nights a week for work and went home every weekend.

When it came to the end of her lease, Amelia said she and her partner left behind a clean apartment, which was seen by the landlord on moving out day.

However, after they vacated the premises, Mr O’Connor withheld their security deposit, citing wear and tear.

When the pair first moved into the apartment, the landlord promised that an energy meter would be installed to monitor their electricity consumption. Amelia alleges that no meter was ever installed and instead the couple paid a flat rate of €200 a month.

The tenant believes the amount to be unfair as the pair barely used electricity and travelled home to Galway each weekend, where they washed their clothes.

Amelia alleges that the couple mostly used the electricity to power one lightbulb and the fridge, as heating was never really needed going into the warmer months and alleges the pair did not use the oven once.

They took the case to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), which found in their favour and was set to fine the landlord €4,000 in compensation and damages.

However, the ruling was never enforced and was set aside due to an inability to find Mr O’Connor’s address to serve him notice.

“The RTB told us they couldn’t find his address,” she said. “But this man’s Revolut, phone number and rental ads are all public. It’s not like he’s invisible.” She added that the same property was advertised for rent again within days of their departure.

The RTB was contacted for comment; however, it confirmed that it “cannot comment on individual dispute cases or confirm if a tenancy or landlord is under investigation”.

However, the RTB’s reply also included “typical” reasons that a case might be halted and said: “In rare cases, a dispute will not proceed because the RTB are unable to serve notice on the landlord/tenant.

“To avoid this happening, the RTB will carry out internal searches to locate a landlord/tenant address. These searches include our internal databases, social welfare records and Land Direct.

“However, common names without additional identifying details (such as PPSN or address) are particularly difficult to trace. If we cannot confirm an address, the case cannot proceed because all parties must be formally notified of the hearing, as required by law.”

There is also a prohibition notice on 4 Duff Terrace, which is available to view on Kildare Co Council’s website, which indicates that a property should not be re-let until necessary works are carried out.

Kildare Co Council confirmed the process for issuing prohibition notices on properties.

The council said: ‘Kildare Co Council issues Improvement Notices and Prohibition Notices to landlords who breach the minimum standards regulations. An Improvement Notice sets out the works that the landlord must carry out to remedy a breach of the regulations. If the landlord does not do these works, Kildare Co Council may issue a Prohibition Notice, directing the landlord not to re-let the property until the breach of the regulations has been rectified.’

Amelia’s partner reported the situation to gardaí but was told it was a “civil matter.”

“The guards say it’s civil, then the RTB say they can’t do anything. Meanwhile, he’s still renting to new tenants,” she said.

The landlord

The Kildare Nationalist contacted John O’Connor for comment.

Mr O’Connor said he sublets the property on behalf of a John Connors, who, he says, lives in America.

He confirmed owning properties in Athy, Newbridge and The Curragh, but declined to say how many properties he rents out in Kildare.

“We deal with a few properties,” he said.

He says he was never contacted by the RTB in connection with the tenants’ case.

In terms of Amelia’s tenancy, he holds that he was justified in withholding the deposit as the apartment was not left in a clean condition – with an absence of wheelie bins, which left “rubbish” at the place and a dog, which “wasn’t house trained.” He continued: “People are not going to move into a dirty property. Everything has to be up to standard. Some people leave the property; they’re leaving it like dumps, then we have to fix them up, paint and clean them.”

The tenant denied these allegations. She said the couple never had a dog at the address.

Amelia showed this publication a video of the apartment’s condition the way they got it and left it, which appeared clean and tidy.

The tenant said their reason for not having a bin at the property was due to the fact that they had only planned on staying there three months when they moved in and brought their rubbish home to Galway with them every weekend.

The landlord also claims that the couple stayed at the property for five extra days after their lease had ended, without giving him notice.

The tenants also deny these claims, stating that they got a month-to-month lease extension until 11 August, which was pre-approved by Mr O’Connor.

Text messages reviewed by this publication show that on 13 May 2024, the couple asked to extend their lease by a month, which was accepted by Mr O’Connor.

Amelia provided this publication with screenshot text messages sent to Mr O’Connor concerning the withheld deposit. After many days and unanswered messages, on 27 August 2024, the couple said they notified the landlord that they would be bringing the case to the RTB if they did not receive their deposit that day.

Speaking about Amelia, Mr O’Connor said: “She’s a very nice girl, actually. But we had to repaint the building, deep clean. To be honest, the place was a real mess. Rubbish and things just dumped on top of each other.”

Electricity

Mr O’Connor also commented on the monthly electricity charge of €200.

He stated: “It’s €50 a week, really. Washing machine, cooker, shower, heaters, everything, you know. Everything is electric.

“We were supposed to install the meters. We were waiting on that, but it never came that time, so then we just charged a minimum fee for electricity, heating, gas, cooking, showers everything, basically.”

Prohibition notice

As for the property having a prohibition notice which was imposed on the property served in May 2022, Mr O’Connor claims the property is “100 per cent perfect” and was renovated three years ago.

“It’s been renovated probably three years ago. Replastered, rewired, everything is new.

“There’s a big misunderstanding on that. Probably an error on that,” he said.

Kildare Co Council confirmed that in order for a prohibition notice to be lifted, the landlord is “required to notify the local authority in writing that the matters listed on the Prohibition Notice have been remedied and shall give a copy of the confirmation to the tenant.’’

On receipt of the confirmation, the council then arranges for an inspection of the property to “satisfy that the matters to which the prohibition notice relate to have been remedied” and only then will the notice be lifted.