Man (61) faces eviction after tenancies board rules in his favour over gas charges dispute

A man in his 60s, who has sustained a stroke and a brain injury, has been served with an eviction notice from his social-housing home following a Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) ruling in his favour in a dispute over the price he was being charged for gas.

John Barry (61) is a tenant of Limerick City and County Council but his home is owned by a private business, Beech Lodge care facility in Bruree, about 30km outside Limerick city.

Following ongoing issues with maintenance, including uncovered, drilled vents causing bad draughts and a broken shower, as well as apparent overcharging for gas, he was served with a notice to quit last year on the grounds the “landlord requires dwelling for own or family use”. The date Mr Barry was to leave was May 1st, 2023. Through his advocate, psychiatric nurse Patricia Summerly, he is appealing the notice’s validity to the RTB.

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Mr Barry moved into one of 13 bungalows on the care-home campus in June 2019, having signed a social letting agreement with the council on May 20th when he was living at St Patrick’s hostel for homeless men in the city.

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According to the agreement, the council “lets” the two-bedroom bungalow to him and Mr Barry pays €30 a week “to the council”, which then pays the full rent, €736 per month, to Beech Lodge.

The agreement contains 29 clauses, mainly setting out his responsibilities to maintain the property and behave well. It also stipulates that the council shall “keep and maintain the house in a tenantable condition and repair during the tenancy”.

Mr Barry is a former car dealership manager, has problems with balance, memory, speech and experiences seizures following a heart attack in April 2018 and stroke in 2020. He became homeless after he left hospital in November 2018.

His rent is deducted at source from his long-term illness benefit. The house was clean and tidy when visited by The Irish Times.

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On October 28th last, Mr Barry was served with a notice to quit by Beech Lodge two days after he paid a final instalment of a gas bill, as agreed at the RTB in June.

The board determined Mr Barry should pay an outstanding bill, at a rate of 58 cent per litre of gas, rather than the €1 per litre Beech Lodge had been charging. Mr Barry had not paid for gas since July 2019 as Ms Summerly sought clarity on the rate charged. His gas was disconnected twice by the care facility in 2021, including for four weeks in November during which Mr Barry had neither heating nor hot water.

Ms Summerly says Beech Lodge told her the €1 rate had been agreed with the council. However, in its determination order, the RTB stated Beech Lodge’s representative “[could not] provide any evidence as to how the charge of €1 per litre for gas supplied was established“ and any paperwork showing it was agreed with the council “cannot be found”.

It ordered Mr Barry “pay a total of sum of €754 in four instalments”. Receipts show he made his last payment of €160, on October 26th, 2022.

According to its website, Beech Lodge Care Facility Ltd was opened by Anne Maria and James Moore in 2002. A copy of the long-term lease agreement between the council and Beech Lodge, released to Ms Summerly and dated February 1st, 2018, is signed by “AM Moore”.

According to this agreement, Beech Lodge management “shall” give the council 21 days’ notice if it intends to terminate a council tenancy. The council then has 21 days to decide to “take a new tenancy” at the dwelling.

Debilitating stress

Ms Summerly questions whether the council has been given such notice.

Mr Barry, whom outside carers visit daily, loves the bungalow and Bruree but feels the stress of the past three years has worsened his disabilities. Speaking slowly, and with many pauses, he said: “I feel my recovery, I’d be further down the road ... Men who have had similar injuries, were behind me and now they are ahead of me and they are older ... They have more ability, balance. I wouldn’t be like this ... I think a lot is the impact of stress.”

Both he and Ms Summerly believe the council, as his landlord, should have intervened to support him better, and should be challenging the notice to quit rather than leaving it to them to appeal to the RTB. “Only for Trish, Headway [of] ABII [Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, both charities support people with brain injuries] I’d be alone,” said Mr Barry.

The council could not comment on Mr Barry’s individual case. Neither Mr Moore nor Beech Lodge care facility replied to calls, emails or texts from The Irish Times.