UP TO 20 families are facing eviction from the same apartment block in Limerick city.

It is the latest example of a large scale attempted eviction amid sweeping changes to rental rules introduced by the Government.

It’s understood the families at The Park on Lord Edward Street received the notices last month, prior to those changes taking effect in legislation.

The news of the Limerick eviction notices comes hot on the heels of some 37 households in a single housing estate in Co Wexford also facing eviction notices. In that case, after outcry, the landlord said he would withdraw the notices.

Local Labour Party councillor Joe Leddin told The Journal that he has seen the notices, which state the landlord’s intention to sell the entire block for sale and he wants vacant possession.

Leddin said the tenants – many of whom are Polish – are “absolutely distraught” at the news.

They now have six months to move out, but have appealed to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

“Some of them are there nearly there 20 years, they are lifelong tenants and reared their families there,” Leddin added.

“I met them this morning and there was one woman openly crying. She moved in in February 2006 – that’s 20 years ago and she had no indication this was coming.”

One tenant told RTÉ today that he and his wife have been renting an apartment for 17 years, and have found that rent elsewhere is “almost €3,000″.

“Me and my wife, we both work very hard. We pay taxes, our kids go to school,” the man said.

When contacted, the Department of Housing said that – as in the Wexford case – that safeguards are in rental legislation to ensure tenants can remain in situ if ten or more properties are being sold at once. This is called the Tyrellstown Amendment.

“The Department does not have the full details at this stage regarding this matter, so cannot comment on the specifics of this case, but advises any impacted tenants to speak to the Residential Tenancies Board,” a spokesperson said.

However, the spokesperson added that any suggestion that tenancies that “were in place before March 1st were not affected” by the new rental rules that allow landlords to raise rent beyond the previous caps.

“Landlords cannot reset rent for a new tenancy if the previous one ended via a ‘no-fault eviction’ within the last two years,” the department said.

While landlords may have different motivations for pursuing evictions to empty properties, it is noteworthy that several have occurred at a similar point in time.

There had been criticism from housing charities in the leadup to the rules taking effect on 1 March that detailed information on what they would mean had only been made available in the days prior, with queries growing over whether this has led to confusion for landlords too.

Labour’s housing spokesperson and TD for Limerick City Conor Sheehan said he is “outraged” by the news, as he pinned blame on the Government’s new rental rules.

Sheehan added that the Housing Minister needs to “go back to the drawing board now to prevent this contagion spreading” in further estates.

“This is a direct result of governments ham fisted rental bill which will drive rents through the roof and further undermine renting as a stable form of housing. This is the second large scale eviction since the one that was pulled in Minister James Browne’s own constituency,” Sheehan said.

“Labour along with other opposition parties, warned that this bill would have devastating consequences for renters that has now become apparent.”

He added: “Families cannot simply pick up and find another affordable home at short notice. There aren’t affordable options sitting idle by in Limerick city.”

The landlord was contacted for comment and did not reply at the time of publication.