Over 100 residents living in an apartment complex in Dublin are facing possible homelessness. 

The tenants at Tathony House, a 35-apartment block in Kilmainham, Dublin 8, received eviction notices last Wednesday.

The residents, including several families with young children, have been told they must vacate the property by the start of next June.

"Very difficult"

Gurpreet Kaur, a single mother from India, living in the building with her three-year-old daughter Kainaat, said it would be “very difficult” to find alternative housing.

“I started looking online first thing,” she said. “I can’t find [anywhere].”“There is virtually nothing available and if we find something that is available, it is very expensive, which I can’t afford.”

Tathony House in Kilmainham. Image: Barry Whyte/Newstalk

Gurpreet has lived in Tathony House since 2014 and would like to stay in the area.

“I work in St. James’s Hospital, which is very close,” she said.

“My daughter's creche is also in this area; however, I think it’ll be impossible to find affordable accommodation in Dublin 8.”

Homeless

31-year-old Murilo Mantovani, from Brazil, has also lived in an apartment in the property with his wife and two boys, aged nine and eight, for several years.

He now fears he will have to move his family out of Dublin.

“We are afraid that we could end up homeless,” he said. “It’s more than a nightmare.”

“I know we have a few months to find alternative accommodation, but there isn’t much available and I find it is much harder to find accommodation; having young kids is much harder.”

"It's tough"

Murilo said he is prepared to move his family out of Dublin if he must.

“I will not let my family be homeless, so moving out of Dublin is an option,” he said.

“However, I have checked online for places like Dundalk, Wicklow and Wexford – again there isn’t much available.

“It’s tough, we have no idea what the future will bring.”

Landlord

The flat complex is owned by Tathony Holdings Ltd.

Under a law introduced in 2016, known as the Tyrrelstown Amendment, a landlord cannot terminate 10 tenancies in a property at the same time to sell, without the tenants staying in place.

However, the landlord told tenants the evictions were not subject to this law, due to an exemption that the price would be 20% below market value selling with the tenants in situ.

In the eviction notices, seen by Newstalk, the landlord cited another exemption that complying with the amendment would cause the landlord “undue hardship”.

Social housing

Meanwhile People Before Profit TD, Richard Boyd Barrett is calling on Dublin City Council to buy the apartment block.

“This is an extreme example of what people are currently facing,” he said.

“If these people are evicted, then some will end up homeless because there isn’t much available on the rental market.

“So, what needs to happen now is that the council needs to buy this apartment block. If they turn it into affordable and social housing, it will ensure that the current tenants will not end up homeless.”

Residents are planning to appeal the evictions to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), who rule on disputes between tenants and landlords.

The tenants are also planning to hold a protest outside Dublin City Council offices next Saturday afternoon at 3pm over the eviction.

The landlord has yet to respond to requests for comment.