A Cork man who had to move in with family after his overholding tenant failed to pay rent for more than a year has described his experience as a landlord as “traumatic”.
Eoghan O’Mahony has been attempting to gain possession of his property in Carlow town since 2024 after his tenant stopped paying rent.
The 46-year-old served a notice of termination in September that year after giving his tenant 28 days to pay rent arrears that had been building since June 2024.
In December 2024, a Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) tribunal deemed the notice to be valid, and ordered his tenant to leave the house within 28 days.
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However, more than a year later his tenant continues to occupy the home, and O’Mahony says he is now owed €20,000 in rent arrears.
Describing the experience as “traumatic”, he said he would “never again” rent out the property.
“I don’t feel protected at all,” he said.
“Everybody I tell, they tell me a story of somebody else they know, that this exact same thing is happening to them,” he said.
He was one of 1,003 landlords to lodge disputes with the RTB in the first nine months of 2024 alleging overholding. This rose to 1,246 during the same period last year.
During RTB tribunal hearings, tenants frequently cite the housing crisis as their reason for overholding, pointing to a lack of alternative affordable rentals in their area.
Originally from Cork city, O’Mahony bought the property in Carlow town as an investment while he was working there in 2007.
“I’m paying a mortgage on that property, and we’re looking to buy a house in Cork [city], closer to work.
“Because I have no rental income, I’m having to pay off that mortgage myself, so basically I haven’t been able to get a mortgage for the last year and a half. The mortgage applications keep getting rejected,” he said.
O’Mahony, his wife and two young children have been living with family in west Cork for the past 18 months, he said, explaining he could no longer afford to rent in Cork city while also paying a mortgage.
“It’s traumatic. You feel like you’re doing the kids a disservice as well,” he said.
“You’d like to have your own home for them and it’s kind of out of reach at the moment because of this situation. It’s been prolonged through all the processes.”
After beginning legal proceedings in June 2025, he was granted an enforcement order in October, giving his tenant two months to vacate by December 1st.
Noting that the RTB determination received in December 2024 is legally binding, he described the subsequent lengthy court process and adjournments as “disturbing”.
“It’s like the courts or the judges don’t know the impact it’s having on small landlords and the price we’re paying. That money won’t be recovered.
“It all seems so unjust and essentially rewards the offender with substantial free rent,” he said.
“I try to see past it because you kind of get too upset when you start thinking of the injustice of it all. All you want to see is the light at the end of the tunnel.”
He is now engaging with the local sheriff’s office for “physical removal”.
Mary Conway, chair of the Irish Property Owners Association, said cases such as O’Mahony’s are “commonplace”.
She said landlords with overholding tenants are frequently forced to seek court enforcement orders due to noncompliance with RTB determinations.
This could result in thousands in legal fees for landlords ineligible for support from the RTB, she said.
“The determination order is not worth the paper it is written on,” she said.
Attempts were made to seek comment from O’Mahony’s tenant.
