A recent investigation by The Irish Times has shed new light on practices used by controversial landlord Marc Godart and his treatment of some of his tenants, some of whom were migrants that had recently arrived in Ireland.
Drawing on the accounts of former tenants and a whistleblower who worked for Godart, the investigation looked at the use of CCTV in his properties, fire safety hazards and overcrowding in bedrooms.
Godart is from Luxembourg and invested heavily in commercial and residential property in Ireland during the economic crash. He now has more than 200 beds rented out across 19 flats and houses across Dublin city centre.
He first came to prominence early last year when it emerged he had evicted more than 40 tenants from apartments in Reuben House, Dublin 8, telling them he intended to sell the property.
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Last year, fire safety notices were served on a property owned by Godart on Capel Street, Dublin 1. The notice was issued in June but rooms and beds were still rented out to tenants in the months after that date, according to a former tenant and records seen by The Irish Times.
As part of its investigation into Godart published on Saturday, The Irish Times spoke to Salvador Chavez Morales, a computer engineer from Mexico, who said he was evicted from a property leased by Godart and had his bed and bedroom door removed when he objected to a CCTV camera that recorded live footage in his kitchen.
In the midst of the unprecedented housing crisis in Ireland, prospective tenants have never had fewer options in terms of securing accommodation.
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