Tenants paying up to €1,400 a month to live ‘in squalor’ with mould and overflowing sewage

TENANTS paying up to €1,400 a month for apartments in one of Dublin’s most desirable areas say they are being forced to live in squalor.

Leinster House, a five-storey house on Leinster Road in Rathmines, has a broken front door, holes in the walls, mould and issues with overflowing sewage.

Despite the conditions, it is claimed, tenants in the 11 small apartments in the property have been asked to pay varying rents of up to €1,400 per month.

The house is owned by a Mr Con Ryan from Ballinahinch, Co Tipperary, according to documents filed in the Registry of Deeds.

Con Ryan was previously director of Con J Ryan & Co, an estate agents which was dissolved in 2010.

It is understood he does not have any involvement in the running of the property, as he leased it to a woman named Sarah Ryan in 2014.

Financial services company Grant Thornton confirmed in an email sent to one of the tenants in November 2017 that the Leinster House property had gone into receivership on June 7, 2016.

It is unclear whether all the tenants living in the building were aware of this.

Ms Ryan insists that she is still the proprietor of Leinster House.

“I’m the landlady and I’m keeping it all above board,” she said.

“There’s no issue with overcrowding. I’ve had Dublin City Council out and I got a letter from Dublin fire brigade saying that particular works are needed.

“But some of the tenants won’t let them in to their apartments to carry out work.

“There are two sides to every story and I’ve had issues with certain tenants not paying rent.”

According to the Residential Tenancies Board website, four of the apartments – numbers 6, 7, 8 and 11 – are registered as tenancies.

The exact number of tenants living in the building is unclear but Ms Ryan confirmed

‘There are two sides to every story and I’ve had issues with certain tenants not paying rent’

that a couple shares one of the apartments with their baby. Another tenant in the property claimed they had been paying rent of €1,400 a month.

A spokesman for Dublin City Council said it is continuing to monitor the situation.

“A preliminary inspection has been carried out by a fire prevention officer and a more detailed technical inspection will be carried out this week,” the spokesman said.

“A formal letter outlining areas of concern is being sent to the person with responsibility for the premises. Dublin City Council’s planning enforcement section has also been notified.”

A Grant Thornton spokesman said they could not comment further on the details of the receivership.