Fight 'far from over' for 36 Wexford households served eviction notices
Sarah Slater
A housing union has said that the “fight is far from over” for residents who received multiple eviction notices served on 36 households in Co Wexford two days in advance of new rental laws coming into effect on March 1st.
Community Action Tenants Union (CATU) South Wicklow-Wexford said that the residents of Hazelwood Housing Estate, in the village of Bridgetown, have “three demands, those of which will be provided in writing to Patchflow Ltd in due course”.
Last week, Minister for Housing James Browne met privately with a delegation of several families affected.
The meeting in Wexford town took place after the landlord Patchflow Ltd withdrew the notices of termination on tenants in the housing estate.
Browne told the tenants in the meeting, which was held in the offices of Fianna Fáil councillor Lisa McDonald, that he was precluded from speaking with them “until and unless the notices of termination had been withdrawn or the investigation by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) had concluded whichever was the earlier,” explained Ann Marie Lamb, one of the affected residents.
“The Minister who asked to meet with a delegation of the residents of Hazelwood said he could not make us any definite promises but reassured us that his department would work through as many housing options such as the Help to Buy Scheme, First Home Loan Scheme, Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) and to work with Wexford County Council to examine bands and thresholds,” continued Lamb.
She revealed that Browne gave householders guarantees that they could “remain in situ for the moment “ and that their “rents would not change” and that the residents were at liberty to speak publicly after their meeting.
It is estimated that about 100 people, including children, were affected by the termination notices, with some being instructed that they had to vacate their properties in May and others in August.
CATU, in a statement, added: “The landlord did not have a change of heart due to the stress he and his associates have caused residents. This has all been made possible because the households have stood together, refused to be divided, and showed what collective power looks like.
"Each household in Hazelwood has played their part and continues to. This is what a union can do. When all of us take action and the residents lead the way. The residents have three demands, those of which will be provided in writing to Patchflow Ltd in due course.
“We must look at this win realistically as this fight is far from over. Withdrawing notices is not the same as fixing homes. We must make sure that Patchflow Ltd, is held to account and proves this commitment clearly.
"The damp, the mould, the repairs that were ignored for. Years - all of these issues remain. The landlord’s statement shows they now want to meet tenants one by one, offering individual solutions while dividing the group. But we are not falling for it.”
A CATU representative highlighted that they will continue to stand with Hazelwood residents on the issue.
“We will keep meeting collectively, addressing repairs as a group and keep a close eye that no one resident is picked off alone, or as we were. Residents are taking no more and standing up for themselves. This is proof that when we organise, we win,” he noted.
Under the new rules, landlords will have to keep rent-price increases capped at 2 per cent, or the rate of inflation, annually. However, in the cases of new tenancies, owners can reset it to the market rate with no limit.
Tenancies started March 1st, 2026, will have a minimum duration of six years and there will also be more stringent grounds for eviction.
Landlords cannot reset rent for a new tenancy if the previous one ended via a ‘no-fault eviction’ within the last two years, even in the case where there has been a sale to a new landlord.
