A landlord was directed to pay a prospective tenant €1,100 after withdrawing from an agreed letting because the tenant relied on housing assistance. The WRC found discrimination under the housing assistance ground in a decision dated 3 April 2018.
The tenant said he had paid a €500 booking deposit and arranged to leave his existing home before the landlord cancelled the letting. The landlord did not attend the hearing. The adjudicator proceeded after confirming the landlord had notice of it.
The landlord’s email listed the hassle of signing social welfare forms among the reasons for not proceeding. The adjudicator found that the tenant’s reliance on social welfare support to pay rent was part of the reason the landlord withdrew from the tenancy agreement.
The adjudicator assessed redress at €1,100, taking account of the delay in returning the deposit, the disruption to the tenant’s plans with his former landlord and the less convenient accommodation he later found.