RTB awards damages to tenants over false Dublin 4 eviction notice
Sean Murray and Aisling Judge were awarded damages by a Residential Tenancies Board tribunal after hiring a private investigator to prove their landlords issued a false eviction notice for a property on Anglesea Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, The Irish Times reported.
Tribunal Findings on the Eviction Notice
The tenants received a notice of termination in September 2025 from landlords Sinead Ryan and Niall Bleahen. The landlords claimed the home was required because their daughter needed to live there due to its proximity to University College Dublin. Murray checked the daughter’s LinkedIn profile and discovered she had completed her Leaving Certificate roughly 10 years prior, graduated from college, and started a job around the time the notice was issued. Ryan and Bleahen did not attend the tribunal hearing.
Before receiving the notice, the tenants had experienced a change in management company. According to the tribunal report published Friday, the new management firm attempted to withdraw written permission for the couple to keep their 11-year-old terrier. The tribunal found there was an ulterior motivation behind the eviction notice, noting the correspondence regarding the dog was dated very shortly before the termination notice arrived.
Private Investigator Surveillance Results
After moving out within about two weeks to accommodate plans for Judge’s father to live with them during cancer treatment, Murray hired licensed private investigator James Boyle. Boyle testified he checked the Ballsbridge property about 30 times across October and November last year. Except for two days when a car was parked outside and lights were on, Boyle stated he could not determine any other occupancy and noted that no one answered the door during delivery attempts.
Murray told the tribunal that a few days after their Residential Tenancies Board dispute was lodged, lights came on and a car appeared at the house. The tribunal ordered Ryan and Bleahen to pay €837.90 covering moving costs and €500 in damages, concluding there was no evidence the landlords’ daughter ever occupied the property.