HOUSING MINISTER JAMES Browne has said he is “very concerned” after 36 homes in the same housing estate in his Wexford constituency received eviction notices in recent days.

Some 100 residents in the Hazelwood estate in Bridgetown in south Wexford got the notifications of termination on Friday, just two days before Browne’s sweeping reforms to the rental sector were introduced.

But Browne denied today that his rental reforms may have been a factor, saying that these claims were “misinformation”.

“I am very concerned by some of the reports over the weekend from tenants in this estate in Bridgetown and I won’t stand for it,” Browne said today.

In another development today, the rental sector regulator Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) said that some of the Hazelwood Estate evictions are now the subject of “ongoing RTB dispute cases”.

This means that the watchdog has been contacted over the proposed evictions and it will now seek to either hold mediation with the landlord and tenants, or a full hearing into the dispute.

The entrance to Hazelwood in Bridgetown. Google Maps Google Maps

According to the notice – seen by The Journal – many of the tenants in the Hazelwood estate in Bridgetown have until August to vacate.

The homes are owned by Wexford-based firm Patchflow Ltd. They have been contacted for comment but had not replied by time of publication. The notice said the landlord intends to sell the properties.

In his statement today, Browne pointed to legislation seeking to prevent landlords from resetting rent for a new tenancy if the previous contract ended via a ‘no-fault eviction’ within the last 2 years.

This applies even in the case where the property has been sold to a new landlord, as is proposed under the terms of terminations in the Bridgetown case.

The Fianna Fáil TD said these claims were “insinuating this move by the landlord is a ‘reaction’ to the new rental rules” introduced on Sunday.

Browne added:

I will ensure that tenants rights are applied fully for the tenants concerned. No landlord can use the new rental rules, which are for newly formed tenancies, as an excuse to evict their current tenants.

“I am monitoring this situation very closely as we gather the facts.

However, tenants in the estate told The Journal over the weekend that they were informed when receiving the notices of termination that the rental rules were a factor in the evictions.

Opposition TDs including Labour TD George Lawlor also cited the new rental rules when speaking out about the case over the weekend.

In its statement this afternoon, the RTB said its leadership have spoken with the Housing Minister today and the regulator’s staff attended a meeting earlier in Wexford with affected tenants to “provide information on their rights under rental law” and on its dispute service.

“As the situation in Hazelwood Estate is now the subject of ongoing RTB dispute cases, the RTB cannot comment further on the case at this time,” a spokesperson said.

It’s understood one of the grounds tenants will contest the evictions is by using legislation known as the ‘Tyrrelstown amendment’.

Contained within the Residential Tenancies Acts, it applies in situations where a landlord proposes to sell ten or more units within a single development at the same time, requiring that existing tenants must remain in situ after the sale.

There was further political criticism this evening on the evictions, with Sinn Féin TD for Wexford Johnny Mythen has condemning the notices and slamming Browne’s government.

“To say that the residents are devastated is an understatement,” Mythen said.

“Having visited the residents on Saturday morning, they said, ‘Where are we to go? What are we to do? There’s no places to rent in the vicinity,’” the TD added.