Ana Maria, a Portuguese immigrant in Ireland has recounted her encounter with her landlord who almost evicted her from her rented apartment until the timely intervention of her friends in the community.
Ana, who lives in Grove Park, Rathmines was asked to vacate her apartment on Friday, March 2nd by her landlord.
March 2nd is a very important date as this was one one of the four days affected by the ‘beast from the east’, a snowstorm which halted movement and business activities in Ireland.
Speaking to the Circular, Ana said: “I pay 230 euros-per-week and my rent was up to date but my landlord just asked me to leave during the snowstorm.”
She also revealed that her landlord tried to illegally evict her with the help of “one of his workers who tried to force his way into the property.”
Ana claims she was almost evicted because the landlord was looking to take in new tenants who were ready to pay more than the 230 euro she was paying weekly.
The community that came to the aid of Ana is the Dublin Renters Union; a group of concerned citizens who look after the interests of people renting apartments in Dublin.
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The quick response of the group stopped the eviction and Ana is back in her home. The group, who held an anti-eviction protest on Saturday, March 10 revealed that the case has been taken to the Rental Tenancies Board (RTE).
At the protest, the Dublin Renters Union said: “These disgraceful attacks on tenants by landlords are widespread in the Rathmines area where many are illegally evicted onto the street because the landlord wants to put the rip-off rents up. The way to fight is to come together to support each other.”
The Circular had earlier reported that the Dublin Renters Union had called on the department of housing, planning and development to stop illegal evictions in Ireland. Peter Dooley, a spokesperson for the Dublin Renters Union told the Circular that the government has to step in to stop all economic eviction.
