Named Galway tenants who owed landlord €12,000 in rent arrears ordered to leave house
The tenants will be required to pay their former landlord a total of €11,739 in €500 instalments over two years
Two tenants who owed their landlord nearly €12,000 in rent and failed to leave when they were evicted have been ordered to vacate the property in which they were living in Riverside.
Lukasz Migdal had lived at 25 Seaman Drive since February 2016, paying landlord John Giblin rent of €1,100 per month.
Mr Giblin told a Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) tribunal that he issued a warning notice to Mr Migdal and the other tenant in May 2025 as they had accumulated rent arrears of €10,296.
Mr Migdal represented both tenants at the tribunal.
When they failed to clear the arrears within 28 days, Mr Giblin issued a notice of termination by registered post on August 1, requiring that they vacate the property by September 3.
Mr Migdal confirmed to the tribunal that he agreed with the landlord’s calculation of rent arrears totalling €11,739 up to March 2026. He apologised for the arrears, and said he had been in discussions with the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme.
The tribunal, which was chaired by solicitor Ciara Doyle, determined that the tenants were in breach of Section 16(a) of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 for failing to pay rent.
It also found that the termination notice dated August 1, 2025 had been valid, and the tenants had therefore been overholding at the property since September 3, 2025.
It ordered that the tenants and all persons residing in the dwelling must vacate and give up possession within 28 days, and directed them to pay €11,738.98 in arrears through 23 monthly payments of €500, and one final instalment of €238.98.
The tribunal also stated that Mr Giblin would be required to refund a security deposit of €1,100 to the tenants upon vacation of the property, less any amounts lawfully withheld under the Act.