A tenant living in a Limerick retirement village who suffered an “intrusion on his privacy” after an agent entered his home and opened his bathroom door while he was using the toilet has been awarded damages.
The tenant, Tamas Tuza, argued that his right to peaceful occupation of his home at the Lakes Retirement Village in Killaloe was breached and that he was being “harassed” due to the number of inspections taking place.
He told a Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) tribunal – which adjudicates disputes between landlords and tenants – that in April 2024, an agent from Quinn Property Management, whose services were used by his landlord Tom Doheny, used her key to enter the property while he was home.
Mr Tuza said he was in the bathroom at the time “and the lady opened the door”.
He said he asked the agent to leave, which she did, adding that he took a video of the incident.
He told the tribunal he had received an email two days beforehand notifying him that a rental inspection was due and that an agent would call between 10.30am and 4pm. He was advised the agent would have a key to enter if he were not present.
Mr Tuza claimed he had not seen the email until after the agent entered the bathroom, adding that he was now afraid an agent would enter again.
Cailin Murray of Quinn Property Management claimed the employee who carried out the inspection knocked multiple times and entered after receiving no response, arguing that “at no point” did they force entry or invade privacy.
After inspecting the kitchen and two bedrooms, she said the agent went to enter the bathroom and encountered Mr Tuza before leaving, claiming he became “very aggressive”.
Ms Murray said the company had not received any video as mentioned by the tenant, adding that she had privacy concerns as to how it was being stored and how long it would be kept.
She said the company understood Mr Tuza was distressed when the agent came in while he was in the bathroom and pledged to call or text before they arrive in future.
The tribunal found Mr Doheny to be in breach of his landlord obligations by “unlawfully interfering” with Mr Tuza’s right to peaceful and exclusive occupation of the property.
It noted that a notification to inspect was issued only two days beforehand, while Mr Tuza was expected to allow the visit at any time over a five-hour period.
“A landlord cannot unilaterally propose a date and a time and assume that if a response is not received that same constitutes an agreement to the inspection or that the landlord can enter the dwelling using their own key,” the tribunal said.
It said Mr Tuza gave “credible evidence of the intrusion on his privacy” and awarded him €250 in damages.
Mr Tuza had also argued that Mr Doheny was in breach of his obligations as a landlord concerning the maintenance of the property, claiming his electricity bills had risen from about €100 for a two-month period to €1,700.
He attributed this to a fault in some radiators in the house, which he raised with the management company in January 2024, but claimed it was the end of August before the issue was fixed.
The tribunal noted that despite the management company being aware of the heating issue since January, it was not rectified until August, which it said was “not reasonable” and awarded a further €250 in damages.
In relation to Mr Tuza’s claim that he was being “harassed” due to the number of inspections being carried out, the tribunal said there was no basis to deem the number of inspections to be excessive.
