Tenants who discovered a Ukrainian family living in their former apartment after their tenancy was terminated, despite their landlord saying he required the home for his own use, have failed to have their complaint upheld.<\/p>\n
Michal and Anita Nowak received a notice of termination from landlord Fionan Comerford, who told them he intended to occupy the apartment in Priory Court, Kildare<\/a> town. The tenants, who had lived there since 2015, vacated the apartment in February 2025, though Anita Nowak claimed that, about two weeks later, she was told others were \u201cviewing\u201d the property.<\/p>\n She told a Residential Tenancies Board<\/a> (RTB) tribunal she subsequently went to the apartment to \u201ccheck for post\u201d, and when she knocked on the door, it was answered by a Ukrainian woman and her daughter, according to a tribunal report published on Friday.<\/p>\n Michal Nowak claimed he was told by the new residents they were renting the property from Comerford for \u20ac1,300, up from the \u20ac844 they were paying. The pair also submitted a photograph into evidence of post issued to the Ukrainian residents at the address. He told the tribunal he believed that once the tenancy had been terminated, Comerford would move in but \u201che had not\u201d, he maintained.<\/p>\n The tenants told the tribunal they brought the dispute so Comerford would \u201ctake responsibility for what had happened\u201d, claiming the issue had \u201ccaused stress\u201d and affected their health.<\/p>\n Speaking on behalf of their former landlord, John Comerford claimed Fionan Comerford had moved into the apartment about two months after the tenants vacated.<\/p>\n He confirmed that a Ukrainian woman and her daughter had moved into the property, but said they were \u201cguests\u201d of the landlord and this arrangement lasted two months. He told the tribunal that a utility bill had been put in the name of the woman as she required a proof of address.<\/p>\n Another Ukrainian person subsequently stayed at the property for a period, he said.<\/p>\n However, he told the tribunal Comerford was the sole occupant of the apartment by the time of the hearing in February this year, though he was \u201caway travelling a lot\u201d.<\/p>\n