A number of tenants of Irish Life-owned apartments in Dublin's city centre have accused the company of trying to force them out of their homes over Christmas, allegedly in breach of rental agreements.
The tenants include several pensioners who have been living at the apartments in two developments off Abbey Street for almost 20 years. In the past fortnight, notices to quit, giving people one month to vacate their properties - by December 20th - were issued against 11 tenants, Irish Life confirmed yesterday.
However, Mr Ray Gordon, the company's spokesman, said there was no question of people being evicted over the festive period.
Irish Life's relationship with its Dublin tenants has been a bone of contention since it sold 300 flats in controversial circumstances at Mespil Estate in December 1992. Tenants at it and other Irish Life-owned complexes, including the two at the centre of the current dispute, Talbot Hall and Abbey Court, were given security-of-tenure assurances following the sale.
However, Mr Gordon said Irish Life had since attempted to "regularise" the situation by either selling the apartments to tenants at a 20 per cent discount or providing them with a relocation grant averaging about €45,000.
Those unwilling to accept either offer have been told they will have to face a considerable increase in their rent, given that there has only been one rent review in the past 14 years. At present, tenants are paying between €317 and €406 a month. Under the new regime, the average rent would be €589 a month, which would still be 40 per cent below the market rate, according to Irish Life.
Mr Gordon said the notices to quit were issued because of the tenants' unwillingness to accept the increases, which would be the first in a series of rent rises to bring the prices up to current market levels.
"These people over three years have refused to engage in constructive discussion and are trying to avoid any attempt to regularise the situation. What we are doing is entirely consistent with what we said all along. We never said rents would remain at 1980 levels indefinitely," Mr Gordon said.
But a solicitor, Mr John Schutte, who is one of the tenants, and in a professional capacity is representing five others, said they had told Irish Life they would pay the proposed increases "under protest", with the proviso that they might seek a judicial decision on their fairness. The company's response was to issue notices to quit, he said.
"These are bully-boy tactics that they're using. It's not appropriate to threaten to throw people, some of whom have no family and nowhere else to go, out on the side of the road over Christmas," he said.
He believed the company had "bought positive media attention" on foot of prior assurances that residents would be guaranteed security of tenure "and now they are backing out on that".
One elderly tenant, who said she did not wish to be named, said her notice to quit "came completely out of the blue. Normally, you might be asked for a rent increase at the anniversary of your lease. To be told coming up to Christmas that you have to go is very upsetting."
Mr Gordon denied the claim that Irish Life was trying to bully or threaten people. "We've acted with huge sensitivity and very considerable financial generosity on this issue," he said. "We've told people that if their personal circumstances mean they will have difficulty paying the increases we will deal with them on that basis."
